


Raven's Colours

by Pharetra



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abused Harry Potter, Blind Character, Blind Harry Potter, But very vaguely I promise, Disabled Character, Disabled Harry Potter, Gen, Good Malfoy Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Misguided Dumbledore, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Girl Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 03:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9638276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharetra/pseuds/Pharetra
Summary: Harry Potter is blinded at an early age. She learns to see magic instead. One night she is wandering the streets of Surrey and is found by a concerned Andromeda Tonks. Not gender-swap, Harry is a trans girl.Massively out of Canon!Everyone's gonna be queer!





	1. Freaks Aren't Meant To Be Seen

**Author's Note:**

> Working title.
> 
> Just started this work, and it's my first published fic.
> 
> EDIT 2017-02-10: Thanks so much, wow! Wasn't expecting this much of a response on my first fic.  
> Thanks to my beta Mallow, I now have the broad strokes of plot for the next several chapters, future relationships, and even ideas for hogwarts years! Love ya darlin.
> 
> The usual disclaimer: I own nothing but my original creations, and make no money from this.

Freak walked down the unremarkable suburban street with measured steps, wary of uneven sections of footpath. His special colours let him see the vague shape of the world around him, but details were fuzzy, and it was all too easy to nick an uneven curb and end up with more grazes and cuts. He was humming tunelessly to himself, paying attention only to putting one foot in front of another, the fading glow that was all that remained of his sight told him that the sun was close to setting. When it was properly dark he could start to find his way back to the house. Any earlier, and the guests would still be there, and freaks weren't to be seen by guests. That was important.

He was interrupted from his reverie by a noise along the street in front of him. It was a person walking, a woman, he could tell, because the shoes sounded like Petunia's 'going out' shoes. He slowed his pace, looking in the direction of the sound, as it — she — came closer. Keeping his eyes averted, because "nobody wants to look at your freaky face", he couldn't help but marvel at the shape coming into focus in his special colours. Instead of just a greyish blob, like Petunia and Vernon and Dudley and the neighbours, this lady had colours! Swirls of bright blue and pinkish orange like he'd never seen before — not even before Dudley spilt the stuff in his eyes that really, really, really hurt, and made him not able to see anymore. Freak was so busy marvelling at the colourful lady, that he forgot to concentrate on not being noticed like he usually did. He didn't know how it worked, but sometimes if he thought really hard about being invisible, people would walk straight past without noticing him. Thus it was that he heard the woman pause in her steps, as she noticed the small form hesitantly doddering along the footpath before her. Freak heard her draw breath, so decided to speak first to allay any fears he would do anything freaky near her.

"Don't mind me, I won't be any bother, I promise," his small, squeaky voice announced.

"Hello, what's your name? What are you doing out here on your own? It's nearly dark." replied the colourful woman, with a voice much nicer than Freak had ever heard addressed to him before. It made him feel tingly inside, and not in a bad way like when Petunia forgot to give him food for a few days.

"I'm jus' Freak. You don't want to talk to me," stuttered the little boy, continuing, "Petunia and Vernon have guests over, and freaks aren't to be seen by guests," he recited.

"B-but," he started, before the lady could tell him to go away and leave the poor normal people alone, "I, um, just wanted to say, your colours are really... pretty. I've never seen someone with colours like me before," he babbled embarrassedly.

"My... colours, you said? What do you mean, my colours?" asked the woman patiently.

Surprised and pleased to be asked a real question for the first time he could remember, Freak was happy to answer. "my, uh, eyes, they don't really work," he said, waving a hand in the direction of his face. "But if I try hard, I can kinda see colours around me sometimes. Helps me not get lost, because the house has colours but nowhere else does. And I've got colours in me too, 'specially after Vernon h— after I fall down the stairs. I'm very clumsy," he added, a little too quickly. "I've never seen someone else with colours like you! Vernon and Petunia and Dudley and everyone are all kinda grey, I can't see them much. But you're blue, and orange, and pink, and... yeah," he finished quietly. He waited, unsure what to make of the prolonged silence.

Finally the woman responded, and he let out a breath of relief that she didn't sound like Petunia when she got mad, merely cautious. "Do you know what 'muggle' means?" she asked slowly, like it was a very important question.

"No, I don't, I'm sorry," said Freak quietly, worried that the colourful lady would stop talking to him now.

"That's completely fine," she quickly reassured, before continuing, "Don't you think your mummy and daddy might be worried about you?"

"Oh no," responded Freak quickly, "They're dead. And Petunia won't want me home until after dark, when the guests are gone. Otherwise I'll get put in my cupboard and won't get any dinner tomorrow neither," he babbled, before breathing in sharply and looking panicked. He groped in front of him to find the woman's arm, and clung on with bony fingers. "Wasn't meant to say that," he squeaked in a rush. "Please, please don't tell them I said that please, I'm very sorry, Freak's not even meant to talk to strangers," he continued, becoming increasingly frantic.

"Shhhh, it's alright, it's alright," came the voice of the woman, and Freak felt her arms slowly go around his middle as she knelt down. It felt nice, and he told her so.

"Can you listen carefully to me? I need you to come with me. I promise I won't let you get in trouble for it. But first I need something to call you that isn't Fr— isn't what you called yourself before. Do you want to pick something, or will I?"

The boy only pulled his head closer to her bosom, too overwhelmed to answer.

"Alright then. How does... 'Raven' sound? Like the bird. Because of your black hair," said the colourful lady kindly.

A nod into her chest was her answer.

"Excellent. Raven, my name is Andromeda, but I want you to call me Andy. I'm going to do something now, and it might make you feel a bit ill, but it's important, and afterwards you can have some dinner and go to bed. How does that sound, Raven?"

After a moment, a small voice mumbled "okay" into her cardigan.

After a quick glance around the gloomy and deserted street, Andy twisted on her heel with a crack, a small boy in oversized clothes clutched tight in her arms.


	2. Magic isn't Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy tries to help Raven, and mostly succeeds. She also uncovers a lot more proof of his abuse, and finds it harder to deal with than expected. A sisterly reunion is on the cards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my beta/plot helper, Mallow!
> 
> Hope you like it.
> 
> Oh also, the usual disclaimer, I make no money from this and own nothing. Except my own OCs.
> 
> 2017-02-23: Retconned Raven's age; small fixes.

Raven would have fallen over if not for the strong arms holding him when they landed. Suddenly they were somewhere different, but he was too busy suppressing his inclination to retch, regardless of his empty stomach, to concentrate on that.

Andy carefully set him down on a couch in her living room where they had landed, and went to fetch Raven a glass of water, well aware of the effect of apparition on young stomachs. The boy graciously accepted the cool glass when it was pressed into his hands, and drank greedily, making sure to stay aware of the woman next to him, in case she decided to take it away. When he finished, and Andy gently took the empty glass and placed it on the coffee table, Raven was amazed as his special colours came into focus around him. This place was amazing! With a squeak of amazement, he turned towards Andy’s face, letting his excitement tumble out.

“Andy wow! It’s so colourful! It’s like I can see everything! I can see you, and the walls, and the table and everything just with my special colours!” He grinned.

“Well, little one, that settles it. You are _very_ special. You can see magic around you — that’s what you call your special colours. I am a witch, but not like evil storybook witches! It just means that I can do magic. And so, love, can you,” explained Andromeda, perching herself in front of the little boy.

“Nuh-uh,” Raven disagreed with a vigorous shake of his head. “Petunia says, no such thing as magic. Not allowed to say that word or freaks get yelled at. You’re trying to get me in trouble!” he added, tone approaching panic.

Andromeda quickly swooped in to reassure him. “I promise, Raven, I’m not. I’m telling the truth, okay? Petunia doesn’t know that she’s wrong. I promise you won’t get in trouble, darling,” she said gently, tugging the tiny figure into a hug. “Hey, how about I show you some magic? Then you’ll know I’m not lying. How does that sound, Raven?”

Hearing the nice woman say his new name while talking to him made Raven feel fuzzier inside then he ever had before. He reminded himself that this was the nice lady, who didn’t call him Freak, and gave him hugs like Dudley got, so maybe she wasn’t fibbing when she said he wasn’t going to get in trouble.

“O-kay,” he mumbled finally, pulling back from the embrace, unsure what to expect.

“Great!” said Andromeda, making her voice as gentle and unthreatening as possible. This poor boy had never had reason to trust adults before, and she mustn’t blow the tenuous trust they’d built so far.

“Can you see this?” she asked, pulling her wand from her jeans pocket and holding it up to Raven’s face.

“Yeah,” the boy breathed. “What is it? It’s got your colours, but other ones too.” He tilted his head consideringly. “Looks like it’s tied to you with string!” he added, puzzled.

“This,” Andy began, “is my wand. It’s what witches and wizards like us use to do magic. I can show you some now if you like?” she offered.

“Yes please,” came the eager answer.

“Certainly. _Avis_.”

Raven’s jaw dropped, then formed a blinding smile, as swirls of colour shot from the wand to form the shape of a bird, twittering about between the two figures. Andromeda felt her heart melt at the child’s reaction to seeing his first magic, even if he couldn’t see it the same way she did. Raven, wanting a closer look, put out his hand in front of him, hoping the bird would come and land on it. When it didn’t seem to notice, he pushed out his own colours towards it, trying to get its attention. Andy reacted with surprise as she felt the boy’s magic spread out, then bemusement as she watched the conjured bird come and land on the thin — too thin, she noted — outstretched arm.

“Wow! I’ve never seen someone as young as you use their magic that easily,” praised Andromeda, vanishing the bird with a flick of her wand, to be greeted with an adorable blush. Happy that he seemed to be opening up to her, and not wanting to push things for now, Andromeda led the small child into the kitchen, helped him into a chair at the table (with a cushion to prop him up, Circe he was tiny) and offered him some of the spaghetti bolognaise on the stove from the family’s dinner earlier. Glad he accepted the offer of food, if shyly, Andy decided not to interrupt the bony child as he quickly downed the bowl of food as if it might disappear.

Dinner finished, she briefly showed Raven the bathroom, making sure he would be able to find his way there if he needed, but assuring him he could call on her any time if he needed help getting around. Then she guided him back to the living room and the couch, eager to know more about the intriguing little boy.

“How old are you? When’s your birthday?” she began, thinking these were fairly neutral questions to bring up.

“I’m six, and freaks don’t get birthdays,” Raven answered, matter-of-factly.

Andy reddened, unable to brush off the remarks the child dropped so casually. Who could do this to a child? Worse, how could nobody notice! What kind of behaviour could warrant such emotional abuse of a child of _six_ , for Circe’s sake! She only hoped that the hints of physical abuse from his body and words were exaggerated by her imagination.

Her fury was shattered by a small whimper from the couch beside her. Turning back to Raven worriedly, she was mortified to see him pressed up against the opposite end of the couch, as far from her as possible, curled into a tiny, shaking ball.

“Raven, love, what’s wrong?” she called, failing to keep the quaver from her voice. Was this her fault, she wondered? “Darling, I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m very sorry. Can you tell me what happened?” she pleaded.

The ball cautiously unfurled a little, until she could see a face streaked with tears. She clenched her fist, ordering herself to remain calm for the poor traumatised child. Strong emotions clearly affected him.

“I’m s-sorry, Mrs Andy, I didn’t mean to make you angry with me,” came a tiny, heartbreaking voice.

Unable to hold herself back from a child so needing of love, Andy reached out an arm towards the bundle. However, as soon as it came close, Raven flinched and pulled his arms over his face. Mortified at the recognition of the response she had caused, and hating herself for making such a stupid mistake, Andromeda drew her arm back again, making sure to stay out of the boy’s space, and trying her best to push down the lump in her throat.

“Raven, darling, I’m not angry with you, I promise,” she murmured, ignoring the tears threatening to spill from her own eyes. “You have done nothing to make me angry, love, I was angry at someone else, I promise you. You are a wonderful child and I’m very sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me. It’s alright Raven, I’m not and never was angry at you. It’s okay, and I promise,” she choked on a sob, “I swear to Merlin I will never hit you or keep food from you, or hurt you, ever, okay? And I will not let anyone else hurt you again, precious. You deserve nothing but love, and you won’t ever be going back to the ones who hurt you, not while I’m here. I’m going to look after you until I can find you a new family to look after you and love you.”

Raven had slowly uncurled, and warily edged closer to Andromeda as she reassured him, and by the end he was pressed to her side with his face buried in her cardigan.

“Do you mind if I hug you?” asked Andy after a pause, the very definition of twice-shy. When a tiny hand snaked out from the bundle against her and fisted into her cardigan, she gently placed her arms around him, and shifted until she was holding him to her bosom, like she had done with a frightened Nymphadora when she was younger.

Ten minutes later, the little hand slipped down, and Raven’s breathing evened out in sleep. Relieved, Andy decided to put the boy to sleep in the guest room, as it was getting late. Gently she lifted him onto her hip, his miniscule weight redoubling her conviction to have him checked by a healer as soon as possible. Making her way quietly up the stairs and into the spare room, she considered how she could have him seen by a healer. They could hardly turn up at St Mungo’s, given she’d practically kidnapped the boy, and she didn’t know any healers personally, at least not personally enough to have them keep quiet about her abduction of… Oh. Of course. The only option was Narcissa. They weren’t on the best of terms, but needs must. She hadn’t talked to ’Cissa since she had lost her baby, when was it? February? Five months ago. The poor woman. Maybe looking after another child would help her heal. It certainly wouldn’t hurt Draco to have a playmate, she mused, as she bent to lay the limp form on the bed.

Andromeda spelled off his clothes, and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a wail. His torso was marred with bruises and scars, and she could see every one of his ribs. Any lingering doubts that could have remained in her mind about the morality of her actions that night were erased when confronted with the very real signs of what the little boy’s words and behaviour had alluded to.

“Those _monsters_ ,” she fumed, before ever-so-carefully tucking the small form into the bed for the night, and casting a night light charm. She exited, leaving the door ajar, and found her way back downstairs to the couch they had sat on earlier.

Cissa. She needed to call Cissa.


	3. Narcissa Gets Involved, Blackberry Jam is Consumed, and an Identity is Discovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andromeda calls her sister and spills all. Raven gets to choose his own clothes, and meets Narcissa and Ted, before having a checkup. Narcissa recognises a certain scar for what it is.

Narcissa was reading in bed with Lucius when their personal floo chimed. This was an unusual occurrence; few people were allowed through to it, and fewer still would dare call at this time of night. So the couple knew immediately it was either family, or an emergency. As it turned out, it was both.

“Cissa! Narcissa are you there? It’s Andy. It’s important, and a long story. I’m sorry for calling so late but I need you, Cissy.”

Narcissa was beyond surprised to hear it was Andromeda calling. They had been on icy terms since she had sided with the black family regarding her elopement, though Narcissa had drawn the line at her mother’s insistence they never speak of her again. They last conversed when Narcissa revealed she had once again lost a pregnancy, and they weren’t going to try again. The sisters had been on the friendly side of civil then, but neither had dared contact the other since, lest they caused the relationship to regress once more.

She rose from their bed, told Lucius not to wait up for her, and stepped into their private sitting room, donning her dressing gown and slippers on the way. Kneeling on the soft floo mat, she waved her wand to open the connection from her side, and threw a small pinch of powder in, leaning forward.

“Good evening Andromeda, what’s the matter? You seem distressed.” Narcissa knew she was putting that a bit lightly, but now was not time to cause an argument.

“Oh Cissa, I don’t even know where to start. Would you mind stepping through? I’ll put the kettle on,” said Andromeda, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she stood when a small nod was followed by her sister’s head retreating, then a whoosh of flame as the elegant woman stepped through. Narcissa settled into a high-backed chair as Andy cast a silencing ward around the room, to avoid disturbing Raven upstairs, and went to fetch tea for the two of them. She thanked Merlin that her husband was off with Arthur Weasley tonight and her daughter at school, at the thought of either of them facing her sister tonight.

On her return, Andy noticed that Narcissa had levitated her favourite chair across the room to face the one she occupied, and transfigured a smaller table for the tea. She smiled. If the tea was a peace offering (which it was), then the furniture was its acceptance. Andromeda settled into her chair and levitated her sister’s tea into her hand, noting the flicker of a smile as Narcissa saw she had prepared just the way she liked. After a deep sip of her own in silence, Andromeda began to tell the story of that night, reflecting as she did, that had she not decided to walk through Surrey that night, rather than apparate directly, she would likely never have met the child now asleep in her guest room.

#### ***

Fully two hours later, and by now well into the part of the night that counted as morning, the two sisters had shared every thought about the child upstairs, as well as the events of each others’ lives they’d missed in their feud. They still disagreed on some points (mainly regarding Ted), but Andromeda understood now that her sister’s concern was of family aristocratic pride and the nature of their elopement, rather than pureblood supremacism. Not wanting to wake Lucius with her return, Narcissa borrowed Andy’s owl to tell her husband when he woke up that she had stayed overnight, and wouldn’t be home til the evening. Andy had made the urgency of the boy’s care clear, and as a healer, she was hardly going to leave before seeing to him, but nor would she wake him. She added a request that Lucius send over a house elf with her healing kit and potions chest. Thank goodness that Severus ensured she was always well stocked; it sounded like the boy might need a few.

The owl departed, and Narcissa returned to find the couch transfigured into a comfortable, if small, bed.

“Given the guest room’s already occupied,” offered Andy in explanation, “I hope it’s alright?”

Narcissa affirmed that it was suitable, and the sisters bid each other goodnight.

#### ***

Andromeda rose early the following morning, too restless to sleep any more. She busied herself quietly tidying around the house and sorting documents, mindful of the two sleepers. So it was, that not long after seven, she heard the creak of the guest room door, and quickly went to meet her guest.

“Good morning, Raven. You’re up early,” she greeted.

“Dudley always wakes me up,” the small child answered, peering out from behind the door uncertainly.

“Oh there’s no need to put those rags back on again!” she said, seeing he had redressed in his baggy, dirty T-shirt and rolled-up jeans, held up with string around the waist. “I’ve got a daughter who’s fourteen now; she’s in her fourth year at Hogwarts. The school for British witches and wizards,” she clarified at Raven’s look of confusion. “We have a few of her old clothes shrunk in the back of her wardrobe, if you don’t mind wearing a girl’s clothes,” Andy continued, leading the boy gently by the arm to Dora’s room. She pulled a shrunken trunk out of a corner, and brought it to the bed before unshrinking and opening it. She thought for a second about the logistics of dressing a blind child.

“Do you know what you want to wear? Or shall I leave you to feel for what you’d like to try?” she asked, thinking that while it was a more involved process, the boy deserved a chance to choose his own clothes. The ones he arrived in would sooner fit a hippopotamus than the bony child.

“Yes please,” came a hesitant voice, and Andy led Raven to the bed and lay his fingers on the corners of the trunk.

“Tops are on the top left, then dresses below them. On the right are skirts and jeans,” she explained, moving his hand to each pile as she spoke. “Sorry they’re girls’ clothes. I can leave, if you like, or I can stay, and help you pick the colours, but it’s up to you, Raven.”

“Stay, please?” came his answer, more of a question in tone. Andy sat herself on the edge of the bed beside the trunk, making enough noise that he’d know she was there, and waited to be be consulted.

Raven ran his hands reverently over every pile in the box, fingering each different fabric, and mapping out the shapes in his mind. He had to fold washing sometimes for the Dursleys, so he knew how to tell clothes apart well enough. He’d never had more than three ratty T-shirts and two pairs of baggy jeans to his name before though, so his mind was agog with the possibilities.

“I can… Can I wear anything I want?” he asked in Andy’s direction.

“Certainly, so long as it covers you and won’t leave you too cold. I can grow and shrink things a little with magic to make them fit you better,” she reassured. Rather more the latter than the former would be necessary, she thought.

Raven slowly pulled out a few items, unfolding them and feeling their cut, before folding them back again as carefully as a six-year-old could. The last item was a soft pink dress embroidered with vines and flowers, which Dora had eschewed as “too girly” unless required to wear it for an occasion, and Raven laid it out on the bed, running his fingers over the embroidery.

“It’s got flowers, right?” Raven asked, continuing, “I like flowers. Petunia has lots, and sometimes I look after them. They smell nice.” He paused. “What colour is it?”

“It’s pink, and it’s a dress,” answered Andromeda, expecting it to be placed aside. When she was met with silence and inaction, she continued. “The fabric is a soft pink, and you were right, it has red and white flowers embroidered on it, as well as green vines. Would you like to try it?” she asked, making a note to talk to Cissa about his choice in clothes. She had a boy this age; perhaps it was normal to go through a dresses phase? Circe knows, Nymphadora was insistent on wearing trousers much of the time, and Andy was happy to oblige — she had never cared for pureblood dress traditions. After all, it was hardly hurting anyone, and if it made Raven happy, that was good enough for her.

Andromeda stood, and helped Raven back out of his old clothes, before gleefully vanishing them into nothingness. She slid the dress over his head, and guided his arms into the sleeves. Raven gave a little jump and grinned at her through the messy black fringe, and Andy smiled back.

“Shall I pick you something warm while you go and put your shoes on, if you remember the way?” she suggested, handing him a pair of socks, and the boy nodded and walked out of the room, keeping his hands extended a little in front of him. Andromeda searched through the wardrobe for Nymphadora’s smallest jumper, selecting a burgundy cardigan before following him.

Raven emerged from his room, his ratty trainers contrasting with the bright, stripy socks, and Andy helped him into the cardigan. A trip to Madam Malkins was definitely in order, as well as some muggle stores.

“It’s burgundy, by the way. Dark browny-red,” she clarified, once again having to remind herself this was a six-year-old she was dealing with. “It goes very nicely with the pink dress. You look lovely.”

“Thank you,” Raven said with a small blush. Nobody had ever said such nice things to him before, and he didn’t want them to stop. The two descended the stairs slowly, and Andy explained about the closed door to the living room.

“Last night my sister Narcissa came over, and stayed the night; she’s still asleep now. She’s a healer, so I asked her to have a look at you today. She’s like a magical doctor,” she clarified, and when Raven’s look of concern remained, she reassured him, “I can stay with you the whole time, and I promise she will look after you. She’s very kind.” The boy nodded, fears apparently allayed, and Andromeda guided him to the bathroom to do his business. The boy needed a bath, but she intended to wait until Narcissa had checked him over first. When Raven returned, she led him to the kitchen table and helped him into his chair.

“What would you like for breakfast, Raven?” she asked.

“I can have breakfast?” came a surprised squeak. “But I haven’t even done no chores yet!”

“Of course,” Andy answered. “My husband Ted says that it’s the most important meal of the day. But he’s the one still sleeping!” she laughed. “So what would you like? We have toast, or muesli, or eggs.”

“Toast maybe?”

“Certainly. Do you like blackberry jam?”

Raven shrugged, looking embarrassed.

“It’s fine not to know. I’ll get you some on toast, and you can try it, how about that?” she asked, and a vigorous nod settled the matter.

#### ***

Half an hour later, Andromeda was sharing stories from Nymphadora’s childhood with Raven, who had discovered he most certainly did like blackberry jam, when the door from the living room opened. She moved to lay a reassuring hand on Raven, suspecting he would be shy meeting her sister for the first time. Narcissa stepped into the kitchen, already dressed, raising a bemused eyebrow in Andy’s direction at Raven’s attire. Andromeda returned with a look that communicated, “don’t say anything.”

“Good morning Andromeda, and good morning Raven. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Narcissa Malfoy, but you are welcome to call me Cissa. I’m a healer, and I’ll just be doing a checkup to make sure you’re healthy. Shall we start with some questions, since you’re up and dressed?” asked Narcissa, but Andy interrupted. “I’ll just go and fetch Ted, he got in early this morning. Might be good to have a mind healer listen to what he has to say too,” she suggested, heading up the stairs.

When she returned with a rather hungover-looking Ted Tonks, Narcissa quickly summoned a Sober Up potion from her trunk, which had been dropped off by an elf that morning. Ted accepted it gratefully, downing it along with some tea and toast while Andromeda briefly explained the story of the boy in a dress sitting in his kitchen, and Narcissa went to freshen up. When she returned, the group moved into the living room, and Andromeda transfigured the bed back into its original couch, before settling on it beside Raven, with Ted and Narcissa in two chairs facing them.

“When was the last time you went to see a healer?” asked Narcissa, getting straight to business.

“A doctor,” clarified Ted, knowing the boy had grown up with muggles like himself.

“Uh, I don’t know? Petunia never took me anywhere. Normally I was locked in my cupboard unless I had chores.”

“What about after your injury? Surely you were taken to hospital for that. Can you tell me what happened to make you go blind?” asked Narcissa, not liking the way the conversation was going.

“Um well, Petunia was showing me how to scrub the bathroom with this stuff that smelled really bad. Blish? I think it was called? And when she went to looking for gloves, because it hurt when I got it on my fingers, Dudley came in, and thought it would be funny to squirt the stuff in my face. I think he was annoyed that Petunia wasn’t listening to him. Anyway it really really hurt, and I think I screamed, because I heard Petunia come back, but I couldn’t see anything, and then she told me to be quiet and put me in the shower with my clothes on. It was cold, but it made my face hurt a little bit less. She took me out, and put some stuff on my face, and then made me change clothes, and put me back in my cupboard. It still hurt a lot though, like when Vernon made me carry the frying pan and I spilt it on me. I started getting tired and tingly, and I guess I went to sleep. When I woke up I’d missed dinner, and I was still tired, but my face didn’t hurt so much. But I still couldn’t see anything. Petunia said a lot of things I don’t remember, but I heard that I was a blind freak now, and I was lucky that I hadn’t gotten Dudley hurt too.” Raven finished his story, unsure if he’d said the right thing. Grownups never told you what the right thing to say was.

Narcissa thanked the child, before turning to Ted, who had paled significantly during the story. “Bleach,” he said in an unbelieving tone. “Was it bleach? Are you sure?” he asked Raven, who nodded enthusiastically, adding, “yeah, that’s what Petunia called it.”

Ted leaned over to Narcissa and whispered a basic description of the caustic fluid in her ear, who burst out in an angry whisper, “Merlin and Morgana! How is he alive? And they didn’t even take him to a hospital!” She leant forwards, considering a moment, before beginning, “The only explanation I can think of, is that Raven has an awfully strong magical core, and its power was concentrated on healing him. If my theory is true, we should observe a high incidence of accidental magic when his body is completely healthy, and the magic is not busy keeping him alive.” She turned to address Raven. “You are certainly a most extraordinary boy,” she said with a smile, and while Raven couldn’t see it, he caught the praising tone in her voice.

Narcissa stood and began to explain, her manner purely professional once more. “I’m going to need to give you a full checkup,” she said, and transfigured her chair into a simple medical bed. Andy helped Raven out of the dress, and lifted him gently onto the bed, encouraging him to lie down, and telling him not to worry, she’d be there beside him the whole time.

“Now, Raven, I’m going to cast some diagnostic spells on you to find out how your body is going,” announced Narcissa, and began with a flourish. Raven was pleased that they only tickled, and entranced by the special colours flowing around him.

Narcissa took the parchments with all of the magically-recorded observations, and duplicated a copy for Andy and Ted to read. It was much as she’d expected; chemical burns to his eyes and face from the bleach incident, and complete blindness except for a sense of light and dark, but surprisingly little scarring, thanks to his magic. However, there seemed to be more of it over his right eye. Leaning in to examine it more closely, Narcissa gasped inelegantly, and resolved to talk to Andy and Ted immediately about her discovery once the boy was out of earshot. Somehow, her sister had rescued a blind and abused Boy-Who-Lived, whom Dumbledore had regularly reassured the wizarding world was happily living with his mother’s family. However, it seemed the child had no inkling of his identity or position, and Narcissa, deciding it was prudent to keep it that way for now, moved on without comment, sending a significant look to her sister.

There was bruising and a few past fractures apparently from abuse, but luckily no broken bones which would need resetting. Most worrying for now was the level of malnutrition of the boy. His ribs and hips were very prominent, and his limbs were stick-thin. In addition, he was at least a year behind the height and weight expectations for children his age.

“May I ask, how often did they feed you?” she requested.

“Oh, most days,” answered Raven earnestly. Narcissa’s face flashed in anger briefly before the cool demeanour returned. “Very well,” she began, “I am prescribing you nutritional potions twice a day, and a high-energy diet to bring your weight back as quickly as possible. I understand that your appetite will likely be small after such treatment, but you must eat at least four small meals a day, and I would prefer five.”

“Potions are wizard medicine,” explained Ted, before kneeling down in front of the child. “I’d like to tell you something Raven, and it’s important you listen carefully and remember it for me. No matter what the people you were with before told you, you are _not_ a freak, Raven. You are a wonderful child, deserving of love, and we’ll all do our best to make up for what you’ve missed so far. Also, I want you to feel free to tell me, or Andy, or Cissa, anything you want to. We will not be angry with you for speaking your mind, ever. If you have any questions about anything, please ask us. We only want to help you. Can you do that for me, Raven?”

“Yes, sir,” answered the boy.

“No ‘sirs’ here. Just call me Ted. I’m a mind healer, I help make people’s minds better like Narcissa makes their bodies better. We’ll probably have some talks together about that, but the rest of the time, I’m just Ted, okay?”

“Yes. Ted,” Raven answered this time, smiling, and Andy smiled lovingly at her husband, who always knew the right thing to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's for you, Drewbie. I hope it's long enough for your liking :P
> 
> 2017-02-23: Retconned Raven's age; small fixes.


	4. Grownups Make Everything So Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven decides she's a girl, and the adults talk a lot.

Ted disappeared from the living room for a minute, before returning with an armful of wooden animals, and called Raven over, after receiving a nod from Narcissa to indicate the checkup was complete. He set the toys up on the floor around the boy, and held his hands to show him where they were.

“These are some of Dora’s toy animals, Raven. You’re welcome to play with them. I’m just going to have a quick chat with Andy and Cissa, but I’ll be back soon, okay?” he said. Raven simply hummed and groped for the toys.

Ted got up from the floor, and moved to the kitchen, where Andy and Narcissa had been watching the pair. “You’re so lovely with kids, Ted,” Narcissa complimented. “Lucius still finds it difficult to drop the cold exterior and just have fun with Draco.”

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about,” Ted said quietly. “From what little I can gather, Raven is horrendously undersocialised for a child. He’s not mentioned anyone other than those three names of his foster family. It’s vitally important that he learn to socialise as early as possible, or it may never be natural for him. His disability already puts him at a disadvantage in that regard. As much as I would love to continue looking after him, we are not the right family. Dora is away at Hogwarts, and she’s much older than him anyway. He needs to be around children his own age, not to mention that we both have jobs. We’ll need to think about who would be suitable, and trustworthy, to take him in.” Andy looked thoughtful at this, and Narcissa got a faraway look in her eyes.

“I ought to get home to Draco soon,” she said, snapping back to the present.

“I was planning on taking Raven to Diagon for clothes today. He has nothing at all, and needs his own things, pink or not. Why don’t you bring along Draco, Cissy?” Andy suggested, eager to spend more time with her sister now they were talking again.

“Oh, certainly! Draco would love an outing,” Narcissa smiled. “Not to mention,” Ted added, “it would be a good test for Raven. He’ll get to meet Draco, and then go out in public on a day that’s not too busy. I wish I could come, but I need to get to the clinic soon.”

“Oh, Cissa, I meant to ask,” Andy said suddenly, “has Draco or any of his friends had a dress-wearing phase? Raven was very keen on it, and I wasn’t going to tell him no, but it did strike me as a little odd.”

“No. Not that I’m aware of. In fact Draco, Theodore and Blaise are all fairly agreed that anything even approaching pinkness is ‘girly’ and ‘no fun to play with’, to Pansy’s dismay,” Narcissa answered. “It does seem unusual, but perhaps he is whatever the opposite of a tomboy is?”

“It’s certainly a possibility, but we should definitely talk to him about it before taking him to meet anyone new,” Ted decided. “He mustn’t be made to feel unwanted, or we may lose all the progress we’ve made so far. I assumed you’d asked him about it, Andy.”

“I told him that it was a pink dress when he chose it, and expected him to toss it aside. When he didn’t, I wasn’t really sure what to say that wouldn’t go over his head or upset him. That’s what you’re for,” she mused, patting Ted’s arm.

“Well then, I’ll ask. I did promise I’d come and play.” Ted walked over to the child, and squatted down where he was engrossed in a game with the small wooden toys. Narcissa and Andy perched on the couch, close enough to hear the conversation.

“Hey, Raven?”

“Yes s— Ted?” Raven replied, correcting himself, and carefully put down the toy he had been holding.

“I was just wondering about the clothes you picked today. Do you like them?”

“Yes yes a lot! I like the flowers and it feels nice,” the child babbled enthusiastically, fingering the hem of the dress. “You’re not going to take it away, are you?”

“No, definitely not. It’s yours now. Did you know that usually, girls wear dresses? I’m not saying that boys can’t, it’s just not very common,” Ted explained carefully.

“Huh,” was the only response Raven gave, furrowing his brows in a way that made Narcissa laugh gently, reminding her of Lucius.

Ted was just about to bring up another topic, when Raven abruptly turned to his face with a determined face. “I’m a girl then,” the child announced, surprising all the adults.

Ted recovered first. “Are you sure? You don’t have to—” he began to say, but could tell by the time he was halfway through that this child had made a decision and intended to stick to it.

“Yep, I’m a girl,” said Raven determinedly, and went back to playing with the animals. These grownups were nice, but they asked a lot of strange questions.

Ted clambered to his feet, leaning on the coffee table, with a fond yet baffled smile on his face. “From the mouths of babes…” he mumbled, and Andromeda giggled. “Well it sounds like that’s settled then. Truly is as stubborn as his– her mother and father. How long did James chase after that girl’s coattails?” she smiled sadly.

“Since third year at least,” Narcissa confirmed. “So, we just call Raven ‘she’ now? Are you sure? What about if someone finds out who he– she is?” she asked, worried for the child. Merlin, she’d had a difficult enough life already, without being famous and… this.

Ted sighed. “I understand your worry, but honestly, we have to trust her on this. She’s used to being ignored, so the best way to build her trust is to listen to what she says. She may change her mind at some point, it’s been known to happen, but it’s just as likely that she’s transgender — called a ‘boy’ at birth according to her genitalia, but feeling like a girl. We don’t really know why it happens, and the muggles are ahead of us in studying the phenomenon, but it’s not nearly as rare as people think,” he finished.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at Andy. “If anyone ought to know about dark family secrets, it would be two daughters of the House of Black,” she said amusedly. Andromeda smiled and agreed.

“Anyway, I really must be off, or I’ll owe Andrews another shift. I trust you both to look after her, and if anything happens, send Peter to get me,” Ted said, kissing his wife and Narcissa on the cheek. He said goodbye to Raven, promising to see her later, and flooed to the clinic.

Andy noticed her sister’s questioning look, and guessed the reason. “My patronus. There’s a muggle children’s story called Peter Rabbit, about a rabbit who gets into all sorts of trouble. When Ted saw it in the war, he told me the story, and the name stuck.”

“That’s lovely,” Narcissa smiled, and decided that perhaps the understated ex-Hufflepuff might be worthy of her favourite sister after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't wait for Raven to meet Draco and visit Diagon Alley!  
> And gah, I'm so glad I can stop calling Raven "he" finally.
> 
> This work is dedicated to all the trans girls & women reading, out or not. I love you all, stay strong <3
> 
> 2017-02-23: Retconned Raven's age; small fixes.


	5. Draco Malfoy Makes a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Narcissa explains the situation to Lucius. Draco meets Raven, and asks if she wants to be friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2017-02-23: Retconned ages.

Narcissa stepped elegantly through the floo, and vanished the soot from her clothes. Calling her house-elf Tinky, she asked her to let Lucius know she was home, and then to fetch her healer’s equipment and potions trunk from Andromeda’s. Before anything else, she had to change into robes more suitable for leaving the house.

Shortly after, she paced through the hall, sunlit in stripes by the tall manor windows, and reached her husband’s office just as he opened the door to step out. “Good morning, darling,” he greeted her with a kiss. “I was just on my way to meet you. Shall we go and visit Draco in the playroom?”

“Certainly,” nodded Narcissa, and proceeded to fill the man in on the happenings in Andromeda’s house. He frowned when she praised Edward Tonks, but said nothing, knowing his wife gave praise sparingly — he’d have to meet the man himself, and see if he really was as agreeable as Narcissa made him sound, elopement notwithstanding.

As they rounded the door to Draco’s playroom, he paused. “So, in essence, Andromeda has none other than the Boy-Who-Lived in her custody, illegally, because of abuse, and he’s a girl now, and you want Draco to meet him? Er, her?” he corrected at Narcissa’s unimpressed look, but she interrupted him.

“Look here, Lucius. There is a damaged child who needs our help. And Merlin knows Draco could do with a friend who isn’t there because their parents want a political leg-up. Her identity is not important for now. And fine, let’s look at it from your point of view. It’s well known that Albus Dumbledore placed the boy with relatives after that night. Which means, when everything comes to light, those close to the child are going to be the ones that reveal it is his fault that the so-called Boy-Who-Lived was abused. Would it not be advantageous for you to be on the side condemning that old fool, and seen as the protector of the child? Not to mention we’re technically complicit in the abduction now, so it’s in our interest to show that was necessary. Face it, Lucius, we are bound up with Andromeda and Edward in this mess now. The best thing we can do now is to keep it from getting bigger,” Narcissa finished, fuming. She stormed off to greet Draco, who was invested in his favourite toy, a toy potions kit he received from Severus.

Lucius mentally cursed himself for speaking out without thinking. Of course Narcissa had considered every angle. He had a feeling there was very nearly nobody who truly knew how ruthless she would be to protect those she loved, and it seemed another small child had wormed their way into her heart. Merlin help him now. He resolved to apologise sooner rather than later, on the off chance it meant he wouldn’t have to sleep on his own that night. “Cissa, darling, I’m sorry. You’re completely right. I trust you, and I trust your judgement. Both on the situation, and your sister. I apologise.”

Narcissa’s frown softened into a smile, and she put Draco down, holding his hand. She kissed Lucius in forgiveness when he approached, before turning back to their son.

“Draco, today you and I are going on a surprise trip to Diagon Alley, with my sister Andromeda and another child your age.” She explained brightly.

His eyes narrowed. “Who is it? It better not be Pansy,” he pouted.

“ _Had_ better not, Draco, and while it isn’t Pansy, that was still very rude,” she admonished, leaving his question unanswered.

“Sorry, ma,” a small voice mumbled, as he looked at the floor.

“Tinky? Fetch mine and Draco’s light cloaks if you please.” With a pop, her elf appeared with the garments, and she motioned Draco towards the floo of the nearby parlour room, bidding her husband goodbye for the day.

Taking a pinch of floo powder, Narcissa announced “Andromeda Tonks’ residence,” leading Draco into the green flames.

#### ***

At the sound of the floo’s chime, Andy helped Raven to her feet from where they were playing. When Narcissa and Draco stepped through, Raven clung on to Andy’s hand and hid behind her leg, wary of the new person.

“Andromeda, Raven, I’d like to introduce my son, Draco Malfoy,” Narcissa announced, and motioned Draco forward. He was intrigued immediately by the girl with messy, boyish black hair, who seemed torn between curiosity and shyness. Andromeda reciprocated her sister’s introduction.

“This is Raven, Draco. She is… not used to other children, so please excuse her shyness. She is also blind, but can sense magic to a degree,” explained the motherly woman.

“Nice to meet you,” Draco said pompously, and stuck out his arm to shake, but deflated a little when it was ignored. He decided to try a different tack. “Can you see me? What do I look like to you?” he asked. He’d never met someone who could see magic before, and wondered what it was like.

“Kinda silver and light green, and swirly,” answered Raven, surprised the boy seemed legitimately interested.

“Wow!” exclaimed Draco, and stepped forwards suddenly. Raven’s free arm flew up in front of her face reflexively, and she pulled behind Andy, making Draco falter. “Is something wrong? I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said honestly. This girl seemed nice, much nicer than Pansy, and he hoped they could be friends.

“Please don’t hit me,” came a tiny mumble from behind Andy, and she turned and picked the girl up, cuddling her to her front.

Draco was taken aback. Why would the girl think he would hit her? All he did was go near her. Did other kids hit her? “Raven? I’m not going to hit you, I promise. And I’ll hit anybody back who does, so there!” he reassured, feeling grown up. “Do you want to be my friend?” he asked slowly. She was so different from his other friends, and he wanted to know more about her.

“Me?” squeaked Raven, wriggling free from Andy’s gentle hold, and cautiously approaching the pretty silvery green magic of the little boy. “I’ve never had a friend before.”

“Well, you can now, if you want,” Draco offered. “And I won’t let anyone be mean to you, because you’re my friend.” He shyly reached for Raven’s hand, and was glad when it curled into his at his touch. Raven smiled the biggest smile either of the adults had seen on her yet, and Narcissa resolved to tell her son just how proud of him she was later.

Draco began to ask Raven all about what she saw with her ‘colours’, and the sisters shared a fond glance. Andy was glad to let go of her worry for Raven meeting Draco. Ted would be proud of her.

“Now, children, we’re going to Diagon Alley shortly. We’ll be flooing to the Leaky Cauldron first,” Andy said, wishing to answer Raven’s inevitable questions. However, Draco was quicker to the mark, and began excitedly babbling about Diagon Alley’s shops and floo travel, to the best understanding of a six-year-old. Raven seemed to be more comfortable asking questions of Draco than herself, Andromeda noted, and so left them to chatter while she gathered her coat and handbag.

“See you on the other side!” said Draco as he moved to the floo with his mother, and they went through.

“Do you like Draco?” asked Andromeda when the fire returned to normal. Raven nodded. “He’s nice.”

Andy held Raven’s shoulder gently, and instructed her to close her mouth until they arrived, then grabbed the powder.

“The Leaky Cauldron,” she enunciated, and they stepped in.


	6. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group have a productive day out, getting Raven a new wardrobe, and learn a trick to help her 'see' things.  
> Draco is an adorable child and Raven loves her new best friend, even if he can talk about quidditch for hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a few days to get the order of things I wanted to happen in Diagon sorted, but the next chapter should follow pretty soon now. Hope you enjoy this one :)

Raven stumbled out of the Leaky Cauldron’s fireplace, coughing, colliding with Narcissa’s legs from behind. The woman turned and quietly vanished the soot, as Draco took Raven’s right hand, her left still clinging to Cissa for dear life.

“We’d best keep moving, in case someone else comes through and lands on top of us,” said Andy, stepping out, and the four moved towards the back door through which the gateway to Diagon Alley lay. Narcissa, leading the charge, tapped her wand on the bricks, and Raven gasped at the display of magic as the wall peeled back into an archway.

“Wow… there’s so much magic here,” she breathed as they walked through, peering around with unseeing eyes, out of habit rather than necessity. She could see her colours behind her, too, but it was easier to focus on them at the front. Plus people didn’t like it if you didn’t “look” at them while you talked.

“What’s that place over there?” she pointed at quizzically. “It’s full of little swirls, like people but much smaller.”

“That would be Farinelle’s Familiars and Pets. They sell all sorts of magical animals you can keep. I would wager the animals are the ‘swirls’ you see,” explained Narcissa.

“But our neighbours’ cats weren’t colourful,” pondered Raven. “Actually, some were! Mrs Figg who lived in the next street, some of her cats were a bit colourful.”

“I think you can only see magical animals that way, not muggle ones,” suggested Draco.

“My thoughts exactly,” Narcissa agreed.

“I think I once heard Dumbledore mention a squib named Isabella– no, Arabella Figg. That was it.” Andy announced. “Perhaps she, or a relative of hers, lived near you? That would explain the magical cats; probably part kneazle.”

Curiosity piqued, Raven asked question after question about kneazles and other magical creatures, until Andromeda promised they would visit the pet shop later so she could meet some for herself. Shortly thereafter, they reached Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, and the women guided the children inside.

“Good morning, what can I do for you?” asked a lady behind the counter. “That’s Madam Malkin,” whispered Draco to Raven. “She makes the clothes here.”

“Raven here,” spoke Narcissa, indicating the girl, “needs an entire wardrobe. Her previous clothes were… unsuitable.” Andy huffed at the understatement.

“We can hold off on anything formal, and winter wear for now, as no doubt she’ll grow a great deal before next winter.”

“By the way, she’s blind,” Andromeda explained quietly to the woman. “So we’ll help her pick things out.”

“No problem at all,” replied Madam Malkin, smiling at the children. “Could you stand up here on the platform please?” she addressed Draco more than Raven, as it was clear to her that the young boy had taken it upon himself to help his friend get around. How sweet.

Raven’s measurements were taken, and Draco’s hand reluctantly released hers for the measuring tape to have access. Once it was complete, he seized Raven’s hand again and helped her down, telling her about the shop around them under his breath the whole time.

“They seem rather inseparable,” commented the shopkeeper quietly to the two mothers.

“They only met this morning,” laughed Andromeda, “but it certainly seems that way. It’s good. She’s… not had a good childhood,” she spoke, suddenly grim. Narcissa sent her a warning look, but Andy waved it away. Admitting that much would hardly give away Raven’s identity. If anything, it would do the opposite.

“I could tell,” admitted Madam Malkin. “You don’t work close to children as long as I have without a sense for what is normal. She’s too thin, and I saw the scars on her arms. I’m just glad that you seem to have taken her in.” The older woman smiled sadly, before moving to set her parchment of measurements down on the counter.

She directed the family to select clothes for Raven, taking them as they were selected, resizing and hemming them with charms and a magical needle and thread. Raven watched the process in between questions about colour and clothing styles. She didn’t really know what she liked, after all, she’d never had her own before. Sensing this, Andromeda selected things she thought would suit the girl, especially with flowers on them, explaining to Raven as she went. When they reached underwear, Andy chose a style that she guessed would remain comfortable despite Raven’s existing genitalia. She really needed to learn more about this transgender thing for Raven. If she was going to stay a girl, no doubt at some point she’d work out that her body didn’t match other girls. Could bodies be changed in that way? Were there spells? Potions? Andy really needed to chat to Ted about it, and visit a library perhaps.

Andy sent Raven to change into a pair of her new undies, leaving only her shoes to be replaced. Narcissa paid from a goblin-made bag of galleons that fed from her vault, and the family departed.

Andy steered them towards the cobbler’s shop opposite, and went through the process of buying Raven four pairs of casual shoes, including some dark red dragon-hide boots, simple Mary janes, and casual slip-on sneakers that were charmed with impermeability and to stay on one’s feet. Once again she had Raven change into a pair, before gleefully vanishing the last remaining items from her past life.

After finishing up, Narcissa insisted on taking Raven to buy some formal robes at Twilfitt & Tattings, the upmarket tailors that the Malfoys frequented. Andy expressed her discomfort at spending so much on a child’s clothes, but Narcissa would hear none of it.

So it was that Raven was introduced to the tailor, Ernest Twilfitt, who very much lived up to his name in her opinion.

After some minutes of the adults discussing robes, and the children looking around the neat shopfront, Mr Twilfitt turned towards the children.

“I wonder if I might ask,” began the tailor, regarding Raven shrewdly, “how, given that you are fully blind, as Narcissa explained to me, you seem to be able to navigate fairly well, without a cane or similar device, and minimal reliance on your friend Mr Malfoy?”

Ignoring the longer words she didn’t understand, Raven answered as best she could, “Well, sir, I can kind of see magic. I see colours where people are, and when people do magic, I can see that too. I guess I can get around here because I can see where the magic changes, between the air and the walls and doors and stuff. It doesn’t really stay still like walls do, it moves and it’s pretty fuzzy, but I can mostly tell where I’m going that way.”

“How extraordinary! I’ve heard of wizards able to sense magic to a greater or lesser degree, but certainly not to ‘see’ it like yourself,” he expounded. “I wonder if I might try something for you?” he said, turning to Narcissa for permission. At her nod, he took a pointed hat from a nearby display, and cast a charm that made it glow light blue subtly.

“Miss Raven, can you tell what this is?” the old man asked gently.

“Err… it’s pointy… oh, is it a witch’s hat like from the stories? Do you really wear those?” she asked with disbelief.

Narcissa and Andromeda’s eyebrows rose simultaneously, and Draco gasped. “Raven, you can see it! How? What did you do, Mr. Twilfitt sir?” he demanded animatedly.

“I surmised that given she can detect the form of magic, applying a simple charm that causes an entire object to glow ought to make it visible to her. Much the way a lamp sheds light in the darkness,” the man explained slowly.

Andromeda cried “of course!”, and Narcissa embraced the tailor, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you ever so much Ernest. You’re much wiser than you ever let on. We hadn’t thought of that, and now we can show Raven her belongings properly!” she gushed gratefully.

They remained in the shop while Mr Twilfitt tailored Raven’s robes, Narcissa and Andy making various pieces of her attire glow as Raven desired, so she could inspect them, and compare how things felt to her fingers with the way they ‘looked’.

Bidding goodbye, and promising to return the next time they came to Diagon, the troupe exited the store with a spring in their step. Draco dragged Raven over to Quality Quidditch Supplies, while the adults discussed where to eat. Upon learning that Raven knew nothing of brooms or quidditch whatsoever, he took it upon himself to explain all about the game, and all of the rules he could remember to Raven, getting most of them right. This discussion took them all the way through lunch at a nearby café, and Draco was just starting on the Quidditch World Cup teams when, to Raven’s relief (not that she would have admitted so to her friend), he was distracted by the squawks and barks originating from the pet shop Raven had spotted earlier. Both children rushed to the window and begged to be allowed to go in. Narcissa had just assented, prompting a scurry of feet, when she spotted Priscilla Parkinson, mother of Pansy, whom Draco had been obliged to play with at pureblood events, and apparently greatly disliked. She schooled her face into Malfoy indifference, and glanced meaningfully at her sister, indicating the approaching woman with a subtle inclination of her head.

Andromeda acknowledged the warning, and did her best not to scowl at the woman she remembered from Hogwarts as a dreadful sycophant, even by pureblood standards. No doubt, things were about to get ugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger, hahaha.  
> And guess what Raven will find at the back of Farinelle's Familiars?


	7. Sneers and Serpents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Parkinsons do not ingratiate themselves with the Tonks-Malfoy band.  
> Draco encourages Raven to get a pet, and the adults decide it can't be too bad of an idea. Especially as it turns out she's a parselmouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, blergh this isn't a great chapter, and I haven't proofread it properly. I'll fix errors tomorrow, but I really wanted to get something out. Hope it's okay.
> 
> §Parseltongue§  
> Hover over text in another language for English translation (desktop only for now, sorry).
> 
> 2017-02-23: Retconned ages; small fixes.

“Narcissa! How _lovely_ to see you,” simpered Lady Priscilla Parkinson as she halted in front of the Black sisters, caging them against the shopfront. “I see you’re talking to the blood traitor again,” she intoned, regarding Andromeda with a look usually reserved for a piece of excrement. “How… charitable.”

Andromeda gripped her wand tighter in her robes at the provocation, and considered an appropriately sharp epithet to volley back at the scrunch-nosed woman. However, before it could be delivered, a high-pitched squeal came from inside the shop, and a blur of pink shot out of the door and into the arms of Lady Parkinson.

“Mummy! Draco hit me!” sobbed the girl, who Andromeda surmised must be Parkinson’s daughter.

“Darling! Come here, oh Pansy, poor thing, does it hurt terribly?” cooed the woman, before turning upon Narcissa. “I expect an apology from your son imminently,” she huffed.

“I would quite like to hear his account of events first, if it’s the same to you, _Lady_ Parkinson,” Narcissa enunciated, leaving no question as to her opinion of the other woman’s antics. The sisters entered the shop to find Draco and Raven, with Lady Parkinson trailing behind, fussing over her daughter.

In the far back corner of the pet shop, on the floor between the fish and reptile sections, Narcissa spotted Draco, holding Raven’s petite form. “Draco,” she called softly, and the boy turned. Raven was curled up with one arm over her head protectively, and the other strongly fisted in Draco’s shirt. Andy carefully knelt down on Raven’s other side, stroking her back in gentle circles as the child whimpered. “Draco, can you tell me what happened? From the beginning,” she asked, glaring at Pansy.

“We were looking at the cats, and Raven said she could hear voices, so we went to look. We got to the snakes, and she said she could hear them talking! She started making hissing noises at them. I guess I looked worried, because she told me she was just saying hello to them. Then Pansy jumped out and called Raven a freak.” Raven flinched at the word, and Draco held her closer. “She kind of… stopped breathing,” he whispered, looking at his friend worriedly, before turning back to glare at Pansy ferociously. “So I hit Pansy.”

Narcissa turned to Lady Parkinson, burying her outrage at the girl’s behaviour behind the cold Malfoy visage. “In that case,” she began, icily, “I believe it is your child who ought to apologise to Draco and Raven.”

“Who is this Raven?” blustered Priscilla. “Don’t tell me that child is yours,” she sneered, glancing between Andromeda and Narcissa.

“Yes, she is mine,” Narcissa hissed, in a tone any werewolf would tell you was that of a mother ready to kill for her cubs.

“Wh… you… but…” came Lady Parkinson’s confused babbling. “Come along, Pansy,” she shrilled, yanking her daughter away and hurrying from the shop, to Narcissa’s astonishment, and Andy’s relief.

“The sheer gall of that woman,” Lady Malfoy snapped under her breath, and turned back to the child she had inadvertently claimed as her own.

Raven had stopped crying, and was hiccuping as Andy gently helped her to her feet. “I think it’s time to go home,” the black-haired sister stated lovingly, after the four shared an embrace. Raven nodded, her face pressed into Draco’s shirt, but the boy looked at the adults imploringly. “Can’t we maybe get a pet, ma? I don’t want today to end bad. I think Raven would really like a snake, and then she’d have another friend,” he said, blinking eyes that were known for wheedling sweets from Lucius at the adults. It was the tiny, quavery smile that graced Raven’s face as she looked up at Draco adoringly that made up Narcissa’s mind. Her son had been mature far beyond his years in looking after the mistreated girl, putting her before himself, and she wanted to reward him for the positive change. The only thing she was not so sure about was getting the six-year-old a snake. Which led to the enigma of the day.

Raven — born Harry Potter — was a parselmouth? She’d never heard of that inheritance in any line but Slytherin’s himself. Perhaps, it had something to do with the events of her parents’ death. It warranted further research at a later date. For now, she had potential pets to look at. Lucius would be shocked when they went home.

Draco gently led Raven towards the row of glass terrariums along the back wall of the magically-expanded shop interior, with Raven clinging to his side. Narcissa hung back out of earshot, but kept watch on the children as they went from tank to tank, Draco reading the signs on them to Raven, and the girl hissing softly to the creatures inside.

“The pureblood circles will know of Raven within days, now,” Andromeda observed. Her sister nodded.

“You realise you claimed her as your child?” Andy asked, hesitantly.

“I… oh. I suppose I did,” Narcissa responded quietly. Confusion, fear and longing all flitted over her face before she reigned back the display of emotion. The repercussions of her lapse in judgement were plain. She and Lucius would have to present the girl as their own in society sooner rather than later, to arrest the gossip mill before it could gain steam. That meant coming up with a watertight cover story very quickly. No doubt the other ladies of the noble houses would be owling her tomorrow for explanations.

“I think you’d better stay with us at the manor tonight. Bring Edward. Amongst the four of us, we ought to be able to think of a suitable story,” she commanded, already laying out schemes in her mind. Narcissa Black hadn’t been the queen of Slytherin for nothing.

A sweet giggle got the women’s attention, and the source became clear when Draco whispered something else in Raven’s ear, and she burst out in tinkling laughter. Seeing the children — _her_ children, if she was honest — happy together, so soon after the afternoon’s horrible event, melted her heart. Andromeda hugged her sister. “Thank you so much for looking after her, Cissa,” she murmured.

“Ma? Raven would like this one,” Draco called out over his shoulder. “It said Pansy’s face looked like she ran into a door!” he added, clearly considering that in itself a worthy reason to adopt the animal in question. Narcissa quietly agreed with the creature.

Andromeda stepped closer and looked through the glass habitat. At first glance, it seemed empty, apart from a few rocks and a dish with some water. However, a minute later, she suddenly spotted a dark grey snake with green-tinted light patterns on its scales, and green eyes. She marvelled at the fact she had managed to miss it — the snake was coiled directly against a tall rock, in plain sight, and looked about half a metre long. She quickly scanned the parchment to the right of the habitat, which appeared to be copied from a reptile encyclopaedia.

“ _Morelia spilota praeterita_ ,” she read. “Known as the Lost Python, it is native to the east coast of Australia, particularly around magical sites. Its name in Dharug, one of the Australian Aboriginal languages, means ‘the one passed over’, in the sense of going unnoticed. As the name suggests, the Lost Python can avoid being seen by humans and animals alike, when it wishes. This is not through invisibility, but through an effect similar to a ‘notice-me-not’ charm. It is rare in captivity, as breeders must be skilled at occlumency to resist the creature’s magic. Given its proclivity for mind magic, magizoologists consider it to be one of the most intelligent snake species, but little research has been conducted on the reclusive species. Its lifespan reportedly reaches 150 years. It averages 2 metres in length, and weighs up to 10 kilograms. _Morelia s. praeterita_ grows significantly slower than the genus’ non-magical species, reaching maturity after approximately 16 years.”

“What’s a not-notice-y thing?” enquired Raven, after a moment of digesting the many unknown words.

“It’s a kind of spell that makes you forget something is there, even if it’s right in front of you,” answered Andromeda.

“Oh, so that’s why Draco went past him!” laughed the girl. “But I could see his colours. They’re really bright, so I said hello, and then Draco could see him. How come I can hear them, and you can’t? Is that why that girl was mean to me? Is it bad?” Her confident questioning had turned shy, and the adults rushed to reassure the girl.

“No, Raven, it’s not bad, it makes you special,” assured Narcissa, stroking Raven’s messy hair. Andromeda changed the subject quickly. “You called it ‘him’. How do you know he’s a boy?”

“Because he said so.” answered Raven.

“Does he have a name?” Narcissa asked. Raven turned and conversed slowly with the reptile.

“No. He says his mistress has to choose his name. He also says to hurry up and get him out of the stupid box.”

Andy chuckled. “Sounds like he’s chosen you then?” Once again Raven turned, hissed questioningly, and received an uncannily human nod from the grey snake. Narcissa called the shopkeeper over. She was a gnarled old lady wearing patched overalls and a cloak, and Narcissa had been aware of her eyes on them for some time.

“Ambrose Farinelle, pleased to meet you,” came her deep voice in a melange of British and French accents. “I hope that bothersome woman from before did not ruin your experience, causing a scene like that.”

“I’m Narcissa Malfoy, it’s a pleasure. This is my sister Andromeda Tonks, and my children Draco and Raven,” announced the woman, a picture of cool graciousness. “She and her daughter acted despicably, but that is hardly your fault.”

“Raven would like to handle your Lost Python, with a view to purchasing him,” Andromeda stated.

“A magical snake for a child? I’m not sure I can recommend that,” remarked the shopkeeper, puzzled by the odd request.

“But he says he wants me!” begged Raven.

“What do you mean?” Ambrose was beginning to think this family was singularly peculiar. As it turned out, she was correct, in a way.

With an encouraging nod from Draco, Raven told the snake she needed to show the owner she could understand him, so if he could ‘maybe move around a bit? If that’s alright’. She was careful to be polite, not wishing to come across demanding to a creature that could be her friend.

§Haha, I know what will make her trust you. Ask her about Jean-Michel,§ the serpent snickered. Raven looked puzzled, but did as he asked.

“He says to ask you about J-Jean-Michel, Miss Ambrose,” stammered Raven, uncertainly. To her surprise, and the Black sisters’ amusement, Ambrose Farinelle proceeded to blush profusely and mumbled “never again in the shop. _L’espèce de connard sournois_. ”

“Well I suppose that’s proof enough you’re a speaker. Never thought I’d meet one. You’re welcome to take him off my hands. Myself and many of my colleagues would be willing to pay handsomely for your talents when you get a bit older, you know,” the woman told Raven.

Ambrose waved her wand in front of the glass front of the terrarium, and it promptly slid away. Raven held out her arm, and the snake slithered up it to settle around her shoulders, sticking his forked tongue in her ear. “That tickles!” giggled the girl.

§I like it here, you are nice and warm,§ announced the snake. Raven gently stroked the smooth, dusky scales of his neck. After a minute she turned to Narcissa and Andy, eyes widening imploringly. “Yes, you may have him,” sighed Narcissa fondly. She’d have to teach Raven that it was alright to ask for things one wanted.

Andy led Draco and Raven, along with her new friend, to the shop entrance, while Narcissa paid for the snake from her magical purse. Draco was impressed at the amount of money his mother was paying, but knew that pointing it out would only make his friend feel guilty.

His ma had said Raven was ‘hers’ before. Did she mean that? If Raven was his sister, then he could keep helping her get around, and show her all the rooms in the manor, and make sure nobody else was mean to her. He thought he’d like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're looking forward to plenty of sarcastic snake in the future.  
>  ~~Also, as soon as I can, I'm retconning the children's ages up to seven or so, because to be honest they're not acting like four year olds at all. Totally not because I'm a crap writer, haha. But yeah, be aware that will be changing.~~  
>  Retcon complete. The children are six.
> 
> 2017-02-25: Holy shit, wow, 100 kudos! Thanks, y'all. ❤️


	8. Elves in the Library, and a Snake's Ego

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven meets a house elf. The children find out her birth name by accident, and the adults briefly explain the events of the night of Voldemort's demise. Also, snakey gets a name!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one seriously kicked my ass, but hopefully the length will help make up for the wait.
> 
> Dedicated to MerisaMist for making me work on it, haha.

It didn’t take long from leaving Farinelle’s for the group to arrive at Malfoy Manor. Andy stepped aside to send a patronus message to Ted, letting him know to floo over to the Manor for the evening when he was finished. Lucius Malfoy appeared and greeted his wife, kissing her lovingly before embracing Draco. This action surprised Andromeda, who had only seen Lucius in public with the cold Malfoy affectation in place; she was pleased to see him being affectionate to his child. Given the way Raven was hanging on to Draco like a limpet, Lucius had no choice but to include the girl in the embrace when Draco pulled her around from behind him.

“Hello, you must be Raven,” he greeted cordially, before flinching suddenly as he turned to see her properly, including the grey form curled across her tiny shoulders.

“ _Narcissa!_ Why does this child have a _snake_ , for Merlin’s sake?” he queried, taking a hurried step back. Narcissa observed her husband’s stricken look, bursting into laughter.

“Lucius, you never told me you were scared of snakes! I’ll bet you didn’t want the rest of Slytherin to know that,” she teased. “That snake is Raven’s new pet— actually I believe he would count as a familiar, given he chose her, not the other way around. But either way, there’s nothing to worry about. Raven, it turns out, is a parselmouth. I intend for us to find out how this came to be. He is a magical constrictor from Australia, of the species _Morelia spilota praeterita_.”

“I see. Well, I suppose I’ll allow you to keep him around, providing he agrees not to harm any of us here,” he addressed Raven. She nodded, and softly lisped the request to her companion. He turned to face Lucius and inclined his head in an indication of respect and accession. The man was impressed by the reptile’s display of respect, and nodded back to the creature.

“I imagine you’ll want to find a suitable name for him soon then, won’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” Raven agreed. “Do you have any ideas? I asked him and he said he wants something impressive.”

“I don’t have any names in mind, but I’m sure you will find something in our library,” suggested Lucius.

Raven explained this to the snake, who agreed it sounded like a good enough plan, and to wake him up when they had some ideas. He then slipped his head inside the neckline of Raven’s dress, making her giggle.

“He’s having a nap now,” she expressed to the puzzled adults. They shared glances of amusement, and Lucius began to lead the children towards the library, with Andy and Narcissa following closely behind. Draco excitedly babbled to Raven about every room they passed.

“This place is huge!” the girl burst out, prompting a bothered hiss from her companion, whom she swiftly apologised to.

“It is my family’s ancestral manor, and was designed to be able to hold a large extended family. Hence its ‘hugeness’,” explained Lucius. “Alas, now we are the only occupants, aside from the house elves.”

“ _Elves?!_ ” squeaked Raven, as quietly as she could. “Real elves like in Dudley’s Christmas stories?”

Lucius turned to Andromeda for assistance, knowing nothing of these muggle ‘Christmas elves’.

“Yes, kind of like them,” Andy told the girl. “But in the wizarding world, they are servants. I’m sure you’ll meet some shortly.”

Raven frowned at the word ‘servants’, and Narcissa jumped in to explain, having studied them thoroughly in her Hogwarts years. “They’re not slaves, Raven, don’t worry. Money and possessions hold little value to them, so they aren’t paid in that manner, but they choose to work in exchange for access to the family magic. House elves are creatures who work only with raw magic. One of the most powerful ways to get that is to take it from an ancient wizarding family. When a wizarding bloodline, or family, exists for a long time, it gets more and more powerful. Witches and wizards themselves can’t use bloodline magic in spells, but house elves can. So in return for access to the Malfoy magic, our house elves look after us.”

During the explanation, the group reached the library, and Andy stepped through into a tall room, two stories tall, with a balcony going around the outside, and shelves all along the sides of the room. Two tall stained-glass windows broke the line of shelves opposite the door they entered through, with large green dragons mirroring each other, their scales shimmering and their wings gently rising and falling, as if the figures were breathing. She had to admit, the Malfoy ancestors certainly had done an impressive job.

Raven’s experience of the library was a little different. Stepping through the door, she immediately felt the size of the space, through the way sounds echoed and the movement in the air. Running her fingers along a shelf close to the door, she admired the patchwork of tones of the books’ magic. Many were very old; she could practically taste the ancient wisdom and power held within. Draco excitedly told her about the windows with dragons. She concentrated on looking in the direction he indicated. She could make out the shapes of the windows, but not the designs on them, and quickly turned back to the bookshelves, which she found much more interesting.

Meanwhile, the adults had moved to the large oak table that graced the centre of the room. Lucius called out, “Dinny!”

There was a pop, and Raven jumped as she sensed another person suddenly appear in the room. She moved closer, warily, and noticed that the thing didn’t actually seem to be a person. They were shorter than her, for one thing. Also, they had bright magic like people did, but it seemed different — spiky and buzzy was the best description she could think of.

“Raven, meet Dinny, she’s one of the Malfoy house elves,” Lucius said as he introduced the two diminutive figures. Raven pulled Draco to her, shy from the sudden attention.

“Hello Dinny,” piped Raven softly.

“Good afternoon Mistress Harry Potter,” squeaked the elf with a jerky bow.

Raven and Draco looked baffled at the name, but the adults shared a look of reluctant resignation. It seemed they were going to have to tell Raven about her identity sooner than they’d hoped. Lucius sent Dinny to fetch tea while he directed everyone to sit down at the end of the long table. Raven hopped up on Narcissa’s lap, so Draco climbed onto Andy’s, before linking his hand with Raven’s across the gap. The tea arrived, and Narcissa served it out, making milky cups for the children and guiding Raven’s hand to hers. Lucius decided to take the lead once they had all taken a sip.

“Dinny, you and the other elves are not to reveal Raven’s other name to anybody. For now, she will just be Mistress Raven. How did you come to know that name?” he asked.

“Lord Lucius lend Dinny to Friend Severus many years gone. Dinny be delivering present to Mrs Lily Potter for Friend Severus. She be having tiny child, calling it Harry. Mistress Raven have same magic as baby Harry Potter, sir. Dinny is sorry, sir,” stumbled the elf.

There is nothing to apologise for, Dinny, you were correct, but it must be kept a secret. You may go." he addressed the small creature, who popped away with a bow.

“Raven, we need to tell you and Draco some things about yourself that you don’t know. But before we start, I must express how vital it is that this remains a secret among only the people in this room, so far, plus Edward Tonks.”

“That’s my husband Ted, he’ll be coming over soon,” Andy clarified.

“Your birth name, Raven, was Harry Potter.” Draco gasped. “Your parents were Lily and James Potter. You lived with them until you were one year old, but an evil wizard came and killed them.” Lucius paused, as Narcissa stroked the overwhelmed girl’s back calmingly. “He also tried to kill you, but when he tried, somehow it defeated him instead. Because of this, you are famous in our world — despite being a baby at the time, witches and wizards consider you the one who stopped the war by defeating the Dark Lord.”

“You’re Harry Potter! Ma and pa told me stories about you!” Draco rushed, impressed. “But doesn’t that mean you’re a boy?” Andy and Narcissa winced at the boy’s naive question.

“No! No! I’m not a boy! I’m not Harry Potter, I’m Raven! That’s my name and I’m a girl!” she cried, and tried to twist out of Narcissa’s arms. She, however, had expected this, and held the girl gently but firmly as she began to cry. Narcissa was about to tell her son to apologise, but one look at his stricken face told her he had realised his mistake already.

“I’m sorry Raven, please don’t cry. You’re my best friend and I’m very sorry. You’re not a boy at all,” Draco murmured. Raven didn’t respond for a moment, making Draco worry that she would stay angry at him. Narcissa tugged her around to face her son, murmuring comfort to the girl on her lap.

“That’s okay,” sniffled Raven after a minute, and let her friend hug her and join their hands again. The adults breathed quiet sighs of relief, and Andy decided to continue the story.

“After your parents died, a man called Albus Dumbledore, who was their friend, took you from the ruined house to relatives of your mother’s. He told everyone that you were growing up happily there, and we all believed him, until I found you.”

“Petunia said my mum and dad died in a car crash, and they were no good drunks,” Raven mumbled, mostly to herself, but Narcissa heard.

“Petunia was wrong about a lot of things, my darling. You never have to see her again,” she reassured.

“Why did Mr Dumbledore give Raven to people who hated her, and tell everyone she was fine when she wasn’t?” demanded Draco.

“We would all like to know the answer to that,” admitted Lucius. “But for now, we will keep it a secret who you really are, to make sure nobody tries to take you away again. I’m surprised that Dumbledore has not announced anything regarding your absence, but for now his apparent ignorance is a blessing. We shall have to wait to find out if his actions were malicious, or merely incompetent,” the man concluded.

“What’s ‘incompetent’ mean?” Raven asked, and Draco rushed to show off his knowledge.

“It means, no good at something. It’s Uncle Sev’s favourite word,” he observed, and the adults laughed.

There was a disembodied bell tone, which meant that someone had arrived at the floo — no doubt Ted Tonks. Lucius called for a different house elf, Fobbins, to bring Ted to join them in the library.

When he arrived, Andromeda got up to greet him.

“Eventful day?” he ventured.

“You’ve no idea,” Andy agreed, but didn’t elaborate immediately, as the others were still close by.

Wanting to break the awkward atmosphere, Narcissa changed the subject. “Raven, why don’t you show Ted your new familiar?” she suggested.

Raven smiled and slid off her lap towards Ted, Draco following behind.

§Wake up, my friend,§ she cooed to the snoozing reptile, stroking his neck. He pulled his head from inside her dress and looked around, taking in the room and the people within.

“I can talk to snakes,” she told Ted shyly. “So Cissa bought him for me when he said he wanted to go with me.”

§Greetings, mate of the dark-haired sister,§ hissed the serpent, and Raven translated. Ted was impressed by the creature’s deduction of their relationship, and returned the greeting.

“Good afternoon to you as well, Draco. I’m Ted Tonks, Andy’s husband,” he explained, and shook the boy’s hand.

“Can you help us choose a name for Raven’s snake, Mr Tonks?” the boy enquired politely. “He wants something fancy.”

“I need to talk to Andy and Narcissa right now, but why don’t you have Lucius show you the books in the library on mythology? You should find some serpent-worthy names in there,” Ted suggested.

The children nodded and ran over to the man, who smiled and agreed to help them. Ted extracted the account of the day’s events from Andy and Narcissa, while the children followed Lucius to a section of shelves on the right hand side of the room. Draco selected books from the shelf, with Lucius helping him to scan them for myths about snake-like creatures.

“How about Apep or Apophis?” offered Lucius from a book on Egyptian and Greek deities.

Raven translated. “He says they’re too hard to say in parseltongue. ‘P’ isn’t a good letter for an animal with no lips.”

“Hmm. All the Greek ones seem to be sea-monsters rather than snakes, and all the Egyptian names mean ‘evil’. The Norse have Jormungandr,” he offered.

“That’s quite long and hard to say,” Draco countered, and Raven agreed. Lucius began to search another volume.

“Oo look!” exclaimed Draco. “This one has a snake on the cover!” he said, extracting a volume from the far edge of the shelf and handing it to his father.

“I hadn’t considered Hindu mythology,” he mentioned. “Here we are. The cover shows Ananti-shesha, the universe snake, servant of Vishnu, the king of the Hindu gods, and son of Kadru, mother of the thousand nagas. It says that Shesha is his name, and Ananti is a title meaning ‘endless’.”

Raven took her time translating the explanation for the snake. “He likes it. It’s cool and makes him sound powerful.”

“Shesha it is then!” Lucius acknowledged, shelving the books with a couple of wand movements. The troupe rejoined the others at the table.

“His name is Ananti-shesha, or Shesha for short,” piped Raven proudly, letting the snake down her arm and onto the table in front of the adults.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so! In return for the amazing response to my first story, I'm going to do Q&A in the comments. Ask a question about the story universe, or my writing, or whatever, and I'll answer it as best I can!


	9. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiet evening in the Malfoy household. Scheming is done, children are fed and bathed, and tears fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short bit of fluff. Can't wait for Severus!  
> Need to retcon the fact that it's school holidays for Nymphadora — I'd forgotten about the crazy northern hemisphere school year.

Not wanting to put off the purpose of their meeting, Narcissa sent Draco to give Raven a tour of their wing of the manor, with Tinky, her personal elf, to supervise them. Draco was ecstatic to show off to his friend, and he left the room as fast as he could with Raven keeping up, excitedly yammering about his favourite rooms and toys. The adults settled in to get down to business.

By dinnertime, they had settled on Raven’s cover story. Her name was Corva Black, child of Castor Black, the squib son of Alphard Black, Narcissa’s uncle, who was born out of wedlock shortly before his death and hidden from the Black family in the muggle world. Her parents, they decided, had died in a muggle accident, and Raven had been delivered to Narcissa as closest living relative of the her grandfather not imprisoned in Azkaban. Lucius agreed that given the secretive reputation of the Black family, the false genealogy sounded quite plausible. Her father being a bastard squib living in the muggle world explained why nobody would have heard of him. Ted suggested naming Raven’s imaginary muggle mother Louise Clay, in homage to her birth mother, and Narcissa agreed. For her physical appearance, they settled on an explanation close to the truth. Her eyes had been damaged in a muggle accident, and her size was from having been a ‘sickly child’.

Once all the particulars had been settled, and Lucius had carefully noted down every detail and duplicated it for each of them to refer to if necessary, the group decided to take dinner. Narcissa sent Dinny to have the kitchen elves prepare the meal, and left to collect the healing potions for Raven from her potions trunk.

Lucius took Andromeda and Ted for a tour of the manor, all animosity to the pair forgotten. To the contrary, he found that Ted’s easygoing personality concealed a strong wit. Shortly, they came upon the toy room, where Draco appeared to have collected every stuffed toy he possessed, with Tinky’s assistance, and was acting out some sort of game with a giggling Raven. They were surprised to see Shesha apparently roped into playing — it seemed not even a snake could resist the girl’s charms. The familiar’s tongue flicked out as he hissed to Raven.

§Elders are at the door, hatchling.§

Raven turned to the door, and tugged Draco up with her. Ted and Andy shared a fond glance at the how close the children had gotten so quickly.

“Time for dinner,” smiled Lucius as Draco took his hand, and he ruffled Raven’s hair, making her smile and hug his legs. The troupe meandered to the family dining room, where Narcissa was waiting, and settled in as dinner was served. Raven dutifully drank her potions, making faces at the taste. As they ate, with gentle questions from Narcissa and occasional suggestions from Draco, Raven told them all about the game they’d been playing.

Once the children had polished off a small crème brulée each (which Raven declared ‘amazing’), Narcissa took them upstairs for a bath, leaving the others to a post-dinner drink and discussion of politics. She briefly worried about whether Draco would say anything about Raven’s ‘private parts’, but her concern was unfounded, as both children stripped off and hopped in the large tub as directed. At Draco’s urging, Narcissa charmed the giant squid bath toy to swim about, and both children chased it about happily. Finally catching the small girl to wash her hair, Narcissa had an idea.

“Raven, would you like to have longer hair? You don’t have to, but I thought I’d let you know there are potions that can grow it longer very quickly, instead of having to wait months,” Narcissa mentioned, while massaging shampoo into her messy black hair. She didn’t tell her that the mother had daydreamed about washing and brushing her daughter’s hair ever since she had been pregnant with Draco the first time, and each of the unsuccessful attempts afterwards.

Raven was silent under her ministrations, and Narcissa wasn’t sure if she had heard the offer.

“Would you like it, Cissa? If I had long hair?” inquired the child. Narcissa was taken aback; either she was very emotionally perceptive, or it was a coincidence. She pondered how to respond.

“I admit I would, yes, but it’s completely up to you.”

“Okay then. I’d like that,” prompted Raven.

“Certainly. I can’t do it tonight, I need to get the potion from Severus first.”

“Uncle Sev!” exclaimed Draco with a happy splash. “You gotta meet him, Raven. He’s funny. He pretends to be grumpy all the time, but really he’s nice.”

Narcissa chuckled at the accurate assessment of her friend. “It’s the school holidays now, so I’ll see if he can come over. It’s been a while since he’s seen you, Draco.”

#### ***

With the children bathed and in their pyjamas, Narcissa took them downstairs to say goodnight to the other adults, then sent them up to Draco’s bedroom, seeing as they were both yawning from the long day.

With that, she settled into the parlour with the other three as Lucius poured a small glass of sweet Sauternes dessert wine and levitated it into her hand as she settled into a chair.

They discussed Raven and the future for hours. She and Draco had to be taught the cover story for her presence with the Malfoys. She had to be presented at a pureblood event, so as to settle the rumours that were no doubt spreading. She had to be taken to Gringotts, to settle her inheritances and accounts, providing the goblins were willing to keep her identity a secret. Lucius laughed and assured the others that they would be only too happy to do so, for a price. Narcissa posited that a goblin genealogy might be able to establish why she was a parselmouth.

As it reached 10 o’clock, Andy and Ted made their excuses to leave, as Nymphadora was to be returning from her stay at a friend’s place the next day. The four walked quietly up to Draco’s room to check on the children. Inside, they found Raven curled up in a ball on a nest of blankets, soft toys scattered around, with Draco lying beside her, their hands still loosely linked. Shesha was lying on her waist, and opened an eye to nod to the adults as they entered. Lucius quietly summoned a camera to capture the moment.

“It would be a crime to move her, I think. I’ll leave her clothes here with you then, if you don’t mind looking after her tomorrow, Cissa?” Andy murmured. Her sister nodded after a moment, unable to tear her eyes away from the sweet scene. Ted and Andy could feel that they were beginning to intrude, and quickly left to the floo with hushed goodbyes.

Lucius banished the camera and came to hold his wife from behind, enjoying the peace. He leaned over to kiss her cheek, and found it was streaked with tears. He could tell why. He knew how much the miscarriages had affected her, despite the strong front she presented. He’d heard her quietly sobbing in their bed when she thought he was asleep enough times. And now, suddenly a new child had wormed her way into Narcissa’s heart, as well as Draco’s, and if he was honest, Lucius’ too. He didn’t know how long they’d be looking after her, but perhaps, she could be part of their family, if only for the night.


	10. Severus Makes a Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids meet Nymphadora "Don't call me that" Tonks, and Severus comes in and royally effs things up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, A NEW CHAPTER. I'm sorry it took so long. Many small reasons, not worth going into. The next chapter is going to be really hard to write with a lot of dealing with abuse trauma but I'll do my best.
> 
> TW this chapter: Severus says hateful things to an abused child, triggering a relapse. The worst fallout will be next chapter, but yeah, stop reading at "And who might this be?" if you don't want to read that.
> 
> EDIT 2017-05-12: Argh I need to keep better story notes. I forgot that Lucius had told Raven about her old identity. A couple of sentences have fixed that, no need to reread if you've already read the chapter.

A week passed, with Raven and Draco passed between the two families, as Ted considered it too early to leave Raven with only a house elf to look after her. Lucius worked from home much of the time, and Narcissa was a private healer, so she was able to rearrange her appointments to make sure she was around whenever Andy and Ted couldn’t be. Looking after Shesha was easy, as Raven could simply ask what he needed. He left to hunt small mammals for himself out in the manor gardens, but otherwise was almost always found beside or wrapped around his diminutive owner. He was happy so long as he was offered water to drink whenever Raven ate a meal. At first he had been given his own dish, but soon enough Raven just offered him her own water glass to sip from.

The day after their evening in the library, Andromeda took Raven home. She happily chatted to and played with Andy (and Ted, until he left for work) until bedtime, when Raven worked out that she was expected to go to sleep in the room she had first slept in, without Draco. Nothing Andy tried to calm the girl worked at all, and before long she worked herself into such a frenzy that the furniture around the sitting room was rattling, and objects were beginning to fly around. When an inkpot nearly smashed into Andy’s head, she decided to cut her losses. This wasn’t a tantrum that could simply be talked down. Also, the girl’s accidental magic was frighteningly powerful, and one of them would get hurt if Raven didn’t calm down.

“Okay, okay, Raven listen to me,” she said clearly, kneeling next to the child. “We’re going to Cissa’s and you can see Draco okay? But I need you to calm down before we can floo.”

The girl’s eyes blinked open in surprise at her best friend’s name, and quickly the crackling in the air began to die down. Andy glanced around — the room was a mess. Things were knocked over all over the place, a mug was smashed on the floor, and one of the chairs was on its side. Ted would have to work with her on controlling her emotions sooner rather than later, if they wanted their house to remain whole, given the girl’s copious accidental magic.

“You promise?” Raven sniffled. Andy nodded.

“Was that me?” she suddenly asked, confusion dawning at the swirling currents of magic around her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to break anything, I promise,” she pleaded, starting to back away with an expression of panic. Andy quickly swept the girl up in her arms.

“It’s fine, Raven. Every magical child does accidental magic when they’re upset, it’s perfectly normal. You just have a lot of magic inside you, it seems. Now are you okay to go to bed now, or do we have to go—”

“Draco! I want Draco!” interrupted the girl, squeezing Andy’s arm insistently.

Pausing only to dictate a quick note to Ted and unwind Shesha from his place of refuge around her leg, Andy quickly took Raven through the floo. When they arrived, she began to apologise to Narcissa, who quickly came by to see who had flooed unexpectedly.

“I’m sorry Cissa, but Raven wouldn’t go to bed without Draco. This was the only way I could calm her down,” she explained apologetically.

“That’s fine Andy. They’re very close, it’s understandable. We really should have expected it,” mused her sister. “Tinky! Could you fetch Draco here?”

The elf popped away, and returned momentarily with the young Malfoy, in green silk pyjamas with a soft toy dragon clutched in one hand.

Raven beamed, the tears on her cheeks forgotten, and reached one hand out towards the spot where she saw Draco’s magic. With no warning, Draco flew across the room, his bare feet skimming the floor, and careened into Raven, both of them tumbling onto the fireplace carpet beside a startled Andromeda Tonks. In the ensuing silence, a visibly irate Shesha squirmed away from the pile of limbs on the floor to a safe distance, hissing grumpily at his companion’s antics.

Narcissa couldn’t help at that point but to burst out laughing at the ridiculous sight, and her sister soon joined her. So it was that Draco eventually got to his feet, with the black-haired girl cuddling into his side.

“Ma, what just happened?” he asked, perplexed at the adults’ mirth. Narcissa wiped her eyes and took a moment to calm down.

“I think that was Raven’s way of saying she missed you,” she answered.

“It was just her accidental magic,” clarified Andy to the boy, who looked equal parts worried and confused. It was somewhat of a white lie — while the statement was true, it did not reveal her amazement at the sheer power, and control, of the magic in her little ward.

Andromeda had brought up a child to Hogwarts age, and she knew that Nymphadora’s magic was on the stronger side of normal. While there wasn’t any sort of empirical measure for a magical being’s power, she had witnessed her daughter performing magic, and she had felt the strength behind it. She had just experienced Raven’s tantrum and the uncontrolled magic it produced, but this was different. Most children couldn’t just make things happen that reliably — after all, it was effectively wandless magic, something most adults struggled with. They might be able to summon a toy, but only with great emotion and concentration. Raven had summoned an entire _person_ (if a small one), and apparently hadn’t even really intended to do it.

A glance showed that Narcissa was similarly impressed, but the silent exchange was interrupted by an enormous yawn from the small girl. Andy was relieved that she at least seemed to feel the effect of releasing so much magic; it would stop the girl from exhausting her core.

“Can Raven stay over?” pleaded Draco, looking at the girl he considered a sister fondly. Narcissa assented, and lifted the tired girl onto her hip, while Draco kept hold of Raven’s drooping hand reassuringly. Andromeda bid them all goodnight before flooing home again, to explain the events to her husband upon his return.

#### ***

On following nights, the adults agreed to allow Raven to sleep with Draco. Had it not been the sweet girl’s only demand, they might have been tempted to put a foot down, but even Lucius conceded that it was harmless and kept the both of them happy. Raven was getting more used to hanging around Malfoy Manor, and could greet all the elves by name, which the odd creatures considered a great honour. They all knew Raven’s other identity, but had been sworn to secrecy by Lucius.

On Raven’s fourth day, Nymphadora Tonks returned from her stay at a friend’s house. Initially, she was at a loss for how to respond to the tiny blind child her parents had apparently unofficially adopted over the week of her absence. However, that paled in comparison with her shock at the sudden closeness of the Malfoy family. She hadn’t met any of the family before besides her aunt, and it took some days for the teen to adjust to the new family dynamic. Narcissa had never been friendly to her before, but spending time with her and Lucius in the presence of the younger children reassured her that the couple did truly care, even if they weren’t quite so affectionate as her parents.

However, Dora was a true Hufflepuff, and within a day and a half had well and truly taken Draco and Raven under her wing, teasingly dubbing them her “little wings” after overhearing Narcissa’s nicknames of “little dragon” and “little bird” for the pair. Soon the adults adopted the nickname, and from then on Nymphadora had made it her job to enthrall the pair with stories about Hogwarts.

 

One evening the younger Tonks was explaining the Hogwarts house system to her cousins over dinner at the Malfoy’s. The adults began to argue heatedly on the relative merits of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, with Shesha weighing with the opinion that clearly any house with a snake as their mascot was superior to those with “squishy hot-bloods”, and Raven diplomatically saying she would be happy wherever she was placed, a sentiment of which Draco expressed his disagreement with a comically disgusted face.

“Even Gryffindor?” he demanded disapprovingly.

Before Raven could reply, a chime sounded from nowhere and everywhere, and Raven felt the manor’s magic ripple out from a point back closer to the entry room.

“That’ll be Severus, if you’ll excuse me, everyone,” announced Narcissa, getting up from the table. Draco grinned at the mention of his godfather, and disappeared following his mother, with Raven close behind, before Lucius could chide his son for leaving the table without being excused. “He’s the best potion master in the whole country, Raven!” he declared as the reached the receiving room.

There, being greeted by Narcissa, stood a tall, lanky man with straight black hair and a hooked nose. Raven was getting better at reading the magic around her, and so worked out he was quite tall, and his magic pulsed deep indigo. He was clearly powerful, but it almost felt like his power was attacking itself inside him.

Severus greeted Draco cordially, but refrained from any contact closer than a handshake. He leaned towards the small form behind the boy.

“And who might this be?” the dour man enquired, and Raven couldn’t help ducking her head away from the severe voice, her hand immediately going to grasp Draco’s. Narcissa frowned in consternation; she had hoped to have the chance to explain the whole story to Severus before he met Raven, but Draco had apparently been rather eager to see his ‘Uncle Sev’. Merlin knows, the man was not known for his gentle manner with children. She motioned Draco forward and went to fetch Andromeda and Edward to assist with the explanation. As Narcissa ducked out from the room, the movement of Raven’s head had flashed her bare forehead, and the potions master’s keen eyes spotted the runic scar above her right eye. His eyebrows arched in shock.

“Potter?! What in heaven’s name are you doing here, you infernal boy? Was your family not spoiling you enough, and you decided to dismiss the protection of your mother’s sacrifice and run away? No doubt now Albus will have me drag you back there by your ear, brat!” spat Severus suddenly.

A brief wave of confusion hit Raven at the unfamiliar name, until she remembered Lucius’ explanation in the library. She was quickly filled with dread, knowing the man was shouting at her specifically. Andy and Cissa and Ted and Lucius had all been so nice to her, she’d nearly forgotten she was really a freak. Stupid! Freaks get punished for forgetting their place, she remembered, and now this scary man was going to punish her for thinking she was good enough to sleep in a bed and play with Draco and have her own things. The girl released Draco’s hand as she pulled her arms around herself tightly. Being small was good. Look small, and hope they forget about you. Get in your cupboard and the man might not hit you this time. She glanced around, panicking, trying to remember where there was a cupboard she could go to. The Malfoys had never told her where her cupboard was, and she had stupidly thought that meant she didn’t have one. Wait, there was one under the big stairs to the top floor! Maybe they’d decide not feeding her was enough and they didn’t need to use the belt. That would be good, she was used to being hungry. Just as she was about to start running for the stairs, she realised Shesha was still snug around her body.

§ Flee, Shesha, don’t let him get you! § she hissed, pushing the snake off her. She could only hope they wouldn’t catch her friend and hurt him for being freaky too. Draco would be alright, he had said this man was nice to him. The girl took off towards the stairs, pulling the door to the small space open with her magic as she rounded the corner and dived inside, pulling it closed behind her. She backed as far into the corner of the cupboard as she could, nestled into the rags, furniture polishes, and dustpan that lay there, and covered her mouth with both hands to quiet her panting as tears silently ran down her cheeks. Stupid freak for letting them trick you. It was like when Vernon told her she could sleep in the bed, then whipped her when she believed him. Mustn’t believe them when they’re tricking you.

 

After unloading his scathing epithets, Severus had taken a moment to feel marginally better. How dare the boy act so cocky, just like his father. To think, he’d nearly not recognised him, as he was dressed like a girl! Were there no lengths a Potter wouldn’t go to for attention? He was surprised when instead of a tantrum, all he heard was a quick sibilant noise before a snake fell to the floor, and the boy fled the room. Perhaps he’d gotten something into Potter’s thick skull. Severus sighed in resignation when he registered the horrified look on his godson’s face. No doubt Draco worshipped the boy-who-lived already. Malfoy men were rather vulnerable to the seduction of fame, and look where that got the boy’s father.

The snake seemed ready to attack him, and the potions master drew his wand in case it was so foolish, but the beast seemed to change its mind and slither from the room the way Narcissa had left. Perhaps when she returned with Lucius, they could explain what in Merlin’s name was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaahhh. Finally introduced Severus, if not in a nice way. I promise he won't stay this much of an asshole. Just wait til Narcissa gets her hands on him ;)  
> Comments on my writing style, plot, character justifications, etc are all welcome. Questions about the story universe too!


	11. Snape's Comeuppance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus gets his just desserts, and Ted works hard to get Raven back from hew panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2017-05-12: Wowee, there was a big demand for this chapter! Guess that'll teach me to leave cliffhangers ;)  
> For real though, this chapter was really hard to write, and I'm not entirely happy with it, but I'm making myself post it to appease you all, ha.  
> To get these chapters up as quickly as possible, I do only a few minutes of editing, so let me know if there are any errors or discrepancies.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: There is a non-graphic implication of prior sexual abuse of Raven. I understand many people will wish to skip this, so I've marked the paragraphs before and after.

Lucius, Andromeda and Ted were getting to their feet at Narcissa’s behest, when Shesha streaked into the door hissing and spitting in fury. Dora, who had yet to truly relax around Raven’s familiar, flinched and gasped. However, Shesha paid her no attention, instead coiling his tail around one of Lucius’ feet, as he was the closest to the door, and yanking him in that direction, glaring between him and Narcissa. The couple got the message that something must have happened to Raven, and looked beseechingly at their guests. Conversing in a few glances, Andromeda took her daughter by the hand and guided her towards the nearby sun room distracting the thirteen-year-old with talk of desserts, while Ted strode up to meet the Malfoys, smoothly transitioning to the calm but professional bearing of his work as a mind healer. Narcissa surmised that the Tonkses must have agreed beforehand that Ted would be better equipped for further incidents involving Raven, given Andy’s difficulty masking her emotions. The healer leant downwards, addressing the distressed snake.

“After you, sir,” he gestured, and the reptile sped off with all three adults pacing close behind.

Shortly, they arrived in the receiving room Narcissa had left mere minutes beforehand, to find Draco yelling incomprehensibly and doing his best to pummel Severus, however ineffectual his stature made the action. More worryingly for the adults, however, was the complete lack of black-haired girl in the room. Lucius quickly glanced behind the taller furniture, but found no signs of her.

Meanwhile, Narcissa calmly instructed Draco to “cease that assault at once; you are a Wizard, not a m— a brute!” She corrected herself, knowing it would be offensive to slander all muggles given her new relationship with her sister, and the presence of her brother-in-law. Draco backed away reluctantly, tears streaking his red face, and glared deep into Severus’ eyes.

“I _hate_ you!” he shouted, and ran to bury his face in his father’s robes. Witnessing the outburst, Narcissa was grimly aware that Severus must have made a significant misjudgement to upset the boy, who loved his honorary uncle. The only person Draco loved more than Severus, excluding his parents, was… Raven. Oh. Narcissa’s glaze grew steely as she rose to her full height, her posture that which had struck fear into the Malfoy family’s enemies for centuries.

“I was gone for _two minutes,_ Severus. What did you _do?_ ” she demanded coldly. Severus bristled at the tone in the woman’s voice. How dare she address him like that, when she had apparently been harbouring the blasted _boy-who-lived,_ for goodness’ sake?

“Narcissa. I was unaware that you were playing hostess to the Potter boy—”

“She’s _not a boy!_ ” interrupted Draco passionately. Severus rolled his eyes and muttered “children,” under his breath.

“Nevertheless,” he continued forcefully. “What in Merlin’s name is the Potter child doing away from his family? I highly doubt Albus would have given him leave to come here, of all places. Which leaves him running away. Was he not being treated princely enough? Wanted to be fawned over for his very name?” the man scoffed.

“Actually, I think you’ll find technically I kidnapped _her_ ,” came a voice from the doorway, where Andromeda stood, a spectacle of Black power as her hair crackled with the ancient family’s magic. The potions-master winced — _two_ Black daughters in one room, apparently both furious with him. Was his sense of self-preservation so poor that he got himself into such a situation? Nevertheless, he was in too far to back down now, and his temper could match theirs in cold determination, if not ferocity. But before he could question the surprising announcement, Narcissa looked pointedly at her husband, who was comforting Draco. The Malfoy Lord bent down and gracefully placed his son upon his right hip, gave a spiteful glance to Severus, and swept from the room. He knew the Black sisters would be quite capable of finding out what the fool had done to his children, but it was better that Draco not witness the impending interrogation.

With the children all absent, Narcissa remained stony faced, but wasted no time in drawing her wand. Severus was a master dueler, and so had his wand at the ready momentarily, but he had not considered the others in the room. Andromeda’s body-bind hex hit him in the side and he mentally cursed for losing his focus so easily while toppling painfully to the polished, and very hard, wooden floor. With her victim incapacitated, Narcissa lazily hoisted the man upside down in the air with a spell the man himself had invented. If he could, Severus would have growled at the insult, but as he took a moment to level his thoughts with occlumency. He quickly gained the chilling sense that he had only himself to blame for… whatever had happened, and he grudgingly listened as Narcissa began to speak, lifting his body such that his face was level with hers.

“Severus, you utter fool, I ought to disembowel you for attacking _my_ child,” began Narcissa, radiating fury, before hesitating and turning away.

“Edward, would you be so kind as to find Raven? I’m afraid to say she could have gotten most anywhere if she was frantic. Perhaps Shesha can help?” the woman instructed, then returned her attention to the cause of the evening’s tumult as the portly fellow left after stooping to collect the snake.

“Yes, as you recognised, the child you met was known as Harry Potter. Clearly, that’s as far as your got before you regressed into a _surly toddler_ and took your anger out on a _damaged six-year-old_. Morgana’s tits, Snape! James Potter is _dead!_ I may not be glad for the way he and merry band of misfits taunted you at school, but they are all either dead or locked up now. Now I suggest you get over your _petty schoolboy grudge_ faster than a vampire at sunrise.” She softened minutely.

“This is bigger than any of us Severus, and I need you on our side for when the world finds out. But be aware, if you are not with me, I will not hesitate to treat you as any other _obstacle_.” she finished, icily, and the dour man could not help but shiver within the paralysis. Narcissa stepped back to gather herself, and Andromeda moved in to continue.

“It has been some time since I’ve seen you, Snape. I can’t say I’m dismayed by that. I have no prior reason to trust you, so know that if you have hurt my Raven, I will hurt you.” The black-haired woman bared her teeth minutely, inches from his face, before turning and summoning a sofa from across the room to sit on, and beckoning her husband and sister to do the same. Narcissa sat primly, and conjured a small stool. Rather than using it herself, she levitated it under the suspended man. Promptly and without warning she canceled both charms on Severus’ body, leaving him to land painfully head-first on the stool. Snape, fuming, righted himself and perched silently on the uncomfortable seat, reluctantly remaining silent while Andromeda recounted the story.

“I was walking in Surrey one evening two weeks ago, when I came across a small child wandering, alone. It was nearly dark, and so I asked them what they were doing. At that point the child proceeded to refer to themselves as ‘Freak’, and ask about my ‘colours’, which I eventually worked out referred to my magic. They announced their aunt didn’t want them home for hours. By this point I was clearly concerned, especially when I noticed the facial scarring and milky eyes. But then this child inadvertently revealed that they were kept in a cupboard, and implied they weren’t fed regularly. So I consider my actions entirely justified when I side-alonged them home with me immediately. Later Narcissa discovered during a medical check that said child was Harry Potter, but she asked to be called Raven, and considers herself a girl, and it would hardly achieve anything for us to deny her that. To cut a long story short, her name is Raven, she is a girl, she was terribly abused physically and emotionally by her aunt and uncle, including starvation, beating, whipping, heat burns, and chemical burns, the latter of which have made her functionally blind. As you can imagine, she is deeply psychologically scarred. Ted had been subtly working with her since she arrived, and your idiotic actions have no doubt set her back significantly in healing. Not to mention the damage you’ve done to your godson’s regard. Draco is terribly protective of her, as are we all.”

Narcissa took over. “Now, we have to go and find the girl I am coming to consider my daughter, and attempt to undo whatever you have wrought. Obviously, you cannot be present, but I do not trust you not to go running back to your precious headmaster. I have no proof, but my suspicion that he may have been involved in placing her in such an abusive home is enough for me to do all I can to avoid him meddling. I shall require a vow of secrecy from you before you are permitted to leave.”

Seeing no way around it, Severus nodded and clasped Narcissa’s wrist as she did the same. He proceeded to give the magical vow.

“I, Severus Tobias Snape, swear to hold secret all information I have learned on this day, regarding the child known as Harry Potter or Raven, until I am released from this vow. So mote it be.” A silver band, shaped like a chain, glowed around his wrist, before dimming, remaining visible only to those who witnessed the vow being taken.

“I expect you to return tomorrow, so that we can recount the story in its entirety. Goodbye, Severus.” Narcissa said, inclining her head sternly in dismissal. The potions-master had taken the floo powder in hand when a terrible thought occurred to him.

“Andromeda,” he called. “You said Pott— Raven mentioned an aunt and uncle. Did she mention any names?”

“I recall so,” answered the woman as she rose from the sofa. “One began with V. Vince? Vern? That would have been the uncle. And the aunt was a flower of some kind.” Severus expression set grimly.

“Was it Petunia?” Andromeda nodded, and watched curiously as Severus’ face grew clouded with anger once more. As he swept into the green flames, she caught the words, “Albus you blind _idiot,_ ” spoken through gritted teeth.

“That,” spoke Narcissa, raising an eyebrow towards the fireplace, “requires further explanation.” Andromeda agreed, saying only, “Tomorrow.”

 

Ted Tonks was dreading what he would find when he found Raven. Shesha evidently understood the situation well enough, and was doing his best to sniff out Raven’s hiding place, but it was difficult for several reasons: the plentiful nature of small nooks and crannies in Malfoy Manor, the sheer size of space to search, and the fact that Raven’s smell was already spread around as a regular resident of the Manor.

By the time they had cleared the western end of the ground floor, where the dining and receiving rooms were, Narcissa and Andy had returned from their interrogation of the culprit of Raven’s terror, and were helping Ted look. After some time, Narcissa straightened up suddenly and cursed.

“Circe! Why didn’t we think of asking a house elf?” she cried. “Dinny!”

“Yes Mistress Narcissa?” chimed the elf as she popped into being.

“Could you find Raven for us? It’s urgent,” the woman begged.

The wrinkly elf snapped her fingers, and a magical ball of mist appeared, before rapidly dispersing around the house with a rush of wind. Seconds later, it rushed back inwards, this time tinged orange, and sped out the door from the sitting room they were currently searching.

“This way!” squeaked Dinny, and the party of worried adults followed the elf as she skipped along on surprisingly spritely legs. When they stopped suddenly (with Andromeda very nearly running into their tiny guide), the ball of mist was hovering beside the staircase to the upper floors, bumping restlessly against the wood panelling.

“Oh dear, I’d completely forgotten there was a cupboard there,” Narcissa fretted, rushing forwards, but Andromeda stopped her with a gentle hand laid on her shoulder.

“It might be better to let Ted go first. He does have more experience than us, and I only made things worse when I first found Raven, if you remember,” she murmured apologetically. Narcissa nodded reluctantly in agreement, and smiled wanly at Ted, who advanced slowly and silently towards the cupboard door.

“I’m going to need you both to stay well back. I suggest you wait in the next room over, to avoid crowding Raven. Cast a one-way eavesdropping charm on the wall if you wish to see,” he instructed.

With great care, Edward Tonks sat cross-legged on the floor on the side the cupboard door opened, but not directly in front of the opening; it was important he didn’t make Raven feel physically trapped, or she was more likely to lash out. With a quiet spell, the door squeaked open, hinges rusted from disuse. The mind healer strained his ears to hear any sound from inside the deceptively large, dark space. After a moment, he identified the fast shallow breathing of his quarry, who was probably in the midst of a panic attack.

“Raven? Raven, can you hear me? It’s Ted, Andy’s husband. I’ve come to help you.”

A hitch in her breathing was the only response the girl gave, but it was enough for Ted to establish that she had not completely lost awareness. As the situation was, his only option was to wait out the panic attack. Then he could begin the task of undoing whatever damage Severus had wrought.

#### ***

Ted grimaced at the pain in his legs for sitting on the floor for so long. It had been over half an hour, but Raven’s breathing was slowing and getting deeper. He decided to try addressing the girl again.

“Raven? How are you going? Are you ready to come out of there yet? It’s alright if not,” Ted explained calmly, and was greeted with a shuffling noise. To his surprise, moments later, the diminutive child emerged from the cupboard door, emerging without addressing him at all. She stood, staring resolutely at the ground. He watched in initial puzzlement, then in discomfort, as Raven carefully removed and folded her dress and singlet, placing them by the door of the cupboard, leaving her in only her undies. She then stood herself in front of Ted, who had stood up to stretch his legs, facing away from him with her scarred back bowed.

“I’m ready for my punishment, sir,” she intoned. Behind the opposite wall, Narcissa shivered at the cold emotionlessness in the child’s voice. It was one thing to hear such a thing from her husband, a politician, but from a six-year-old? It was chilling.

“I am not going to punish you Raven. You have done nothing wrong,” Ted patiently spoke.

“I know that’s not true, sir, I’m a freak. I’m sorry for running away from my punishment, sir.”

“Raven, your uncle isn’t here, I’m not going to punish you, I promise,” Ted replied, pleading entering into his voice.

####  _TW: Implied prior sexual abuse_

“ _Oh,_ ” sighed Raven, and the emotion in the expression did not lessen Ted’s worry. That was not an ‘oh’ of realisation of safety. That was an ‘oh’ of resigned horror.

The girl turned around, still not daring to look into his eyes, lest it be taken for defiance. She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Vernon had only made her do this a few times, when Petunia and Dudley were away. It was even worse than being beaten, even if it didn’t leave as many marks.

Ted watched in dawning horror as Raven knelt before him, and her hands reached for his belt, he took a quick step back, and the child looked confused and lost.

“NO! Raven! You are not expected to do that, ever! I will never, _ever_ expect you to do that for me, and nor will Lucius, or Narcissa, or Andromeda. I am so sorry, darling, for what he did to you, but I won’t let it happen again,” exclaimed Ted, dropping to his knees to be closer to Raven’s height.

####  _End TW_

“I don’t… I don’t understand, what do you want, sir? I’ve been freaky and bad!” pleaded Raven, tears filling her eyes.

“You haven’t been bad at all, Raven. It was that man who shouted at you who was bad, not you. And your uncle and aunt were very bad people, they lied to you, do you understand?”

Ted was expecting the shake of her head from Raven; it takes more than a week and a few conversations to undo the work of years of emotional abuse, he knew. Even so, he continued.

“You never have to see them again, okay? Now, would you be comfortable if I touched your hand? Just your hand, nothing else,” Ted asked softly, lifting his own hand between them in indication.

Raven flinched back, and Ted took this as a definite no. He knew the child’s fear was not his fault, but it still hurt to be unable to comfort her.

“Okay. I’m going to say some names, and you just nod if you’d like me to get them for you. They won’t touch you unless you let them, but they might be able to make you feel better,” he reassured.

“Narcissa. Andromeda.” No reaction.

“Lucius.” A slight flinch. Definitely not. Men were out of the question it seemed.

“Shesha.” Raven nodded shyly. With no action on his part, Ted saw the snake slither in the door from where Narcissa and Andromeda were waiting. One of them must have been holding the familiar. An expression of relief flashed on the girl’s face, as the reptile wound himself snugly around her naked torso and neck, like a living weighted blanket.

“Draco,” suggested Ted finally, and Raven gave a small whimper.

“What if he hates me?” she gulped. Knowing that his reassurances would mean nothing to the girl, he opted to show her instead. He moved a few steps away and summoned Dinny, asking her to fetch Draco immediately, letting Lucius know Raven needed the boy. Half a minute later, Draco appeared, and looked with alarm at his underdressed best friend.

“Why don’t you ask him?” suggested Ted gently to the girl.

“Do you… hate me? For being a freak?” demanded Raven, with a mixture of determination and vulnerability.

“Of course not Raven! You’re my best friend and my little sister!” gushed Draco. “I was so worried for you when Sev— _Professor Snape_ yelled at you. Ma and Auntie Andy hexed him for that!”

Raven looked cautiously amazed, as if she couldn’t believe Draco’s feelings, which was likely. Ted bent down and whispered into the boy’s ear.

“Would it be okay if I hugged you?” Draco asked obediently.

Raven hesitated, but nodded. Draco immediately pulled her into his arms ungracefully, but the panic that flashed over Raven’s face at the sudden movement was replaced by a blush of appreciation.

“Raven, why don’t you have clothes on, you’ll catch a cold,” informed Draco, a hint of his father’s imperiousness coming through. The boy didn’t wait for an answer, and when Ted brought her folded dress and singlet over, Draco enthusiastically dressed the girl, going so far as to take off his own jumper and put it on his sister to warm her up.

Ted sighed with relief as Draco pulled the girl back into a fierce hug, and she buried her face in his shoulder, Shesha draping himself across the pair. Her healing setback was far from solved, and they had a lot to do even when she was back to the point she had been before the Snape incident. But Draco seemed to, unknowingly, be just what Raven needed. His protectiveness, stubbornness, and propensity to initiate hugs and touches counteracted Raven’s shyness and inclination to fade into the background, as well as giving her the gentle touch desperately desired but still wouldn’t dare to initiate. Thank heavens they had found each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand it's far from over. Severus still needs to hear the whole story, and Draco will definitely be giving him a piece of his mind.


	12. Planning Things and Dragon Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus finally lets some emotions show, and not in a constructive way. Narcissa and Lucius learn Raven's birthday is soon, so they decide to get on with adopting Raven sooner rather than later. They also task Severus with keeping an eye on Dumbledore. After this, some cute Raven and Draco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUGghuhGhhH. So yeahhh, I found out what happens when you ignore semi-long-term plot plans; you paint yourself into a corner. I didn't know what to do, but I finally found the time to sit down and write out a summary of what happens from now until Hogwarts.
> 
> Fluff with the trio of cute (Raven, Draco and Shesha) at the end as a reward for waiting so patiently for this chapter :)
> 
> Don't hate me for the errors there no-doubt are. I don't have it in me to proof this one.

Unsurprisingly, after the incident, Raven was tired and quiet all day, and went to bed early. Whether through obliviousness or astuteness, Draco acted just the same as usual, which was exactly what Raven needed. Even so, the girl refused to let him out of her sight, and barely let go of his hand all night. After each other in on the minutiae of the day’s events, Narcissa and Lucius took turns to watch over their children that night, neither comfortable with leaving them on their own. Thankfully, while Raven tossed occasionally in the bed, nuzzling into Draco seemed to calm her back into deep sleep. Lucius was troubled to hear of Raven’s ‘incident’ with Ted, but couldn’t say he was truly surprised. He bottled away the fury in his chest. It would be much better put to use against her abusers.

Nymphadora Tonks started by pestering the adults about what happened to Raven, but her mother’s quick application of the “one more word about this and you’ll be grounded” voice put a stop to it. They left the Manor after dinner, and Ted told the curious teen a bare outline of Raven’s abuse, after swearing her to secrecy. He explained to his daughter the importance of being careful around Raven, but not excluding her or treating her like glass. The fiery Hufflepuff was left hugging her parents, sobbing and cursing the horrible people who hurt her little cousin.

### ***

The following morning dawned, and after breakfast, Narcissa and Lucius sent the children to play in the play room under Dinny’s watchful eye. The couple walked to the library and sat down at the large table, summoning parchment, quills, and books on British magical law. Over the next few hours, they researched, discussed, and laid out plans and backup plans to adopt Raven, and make sure she couldn’t be removed from them even when the world discovered her abduction.

At exactly eleven o’clock, the floo chimed. Lucius directed Dobby to pop Severus into the library as soon as he came through. A minute later, the dour potions master was standing before them, frowning at the insult of being popped away by a house elf without being asked permission. His expression was shuttered, but the darker-than-usual rings under his eyes belied the internal conflict that had kept him awake all night. After a quiet word from Narcissa, Dobby popped to the kitchens to fetch morning tea. Lucius wandlessly pulled out a chair facing himself and his wife, and Severus took the hint, seating himself without complaint.

Narcissa lifted her cup of tea, sipped elegantly, and began to tell Raven’s story from the moment she met the girl. She was intrigued to see the usually unflappable spy’s mask slowly begin to crack; his jaw was clenched tight and his eyes shone murderously. When she reached the evidence of sexual abuse that Raven had shown after Severus’ departure, the man’s fragile composure failed.

“ _Enough!_ ” he bellowed, then buried his face in his hands. Both Malfoys were shocked to hear tears in their friend’s voice for the first time they could remember.

“I’ve failed her,” he muttered despairingly. “I promised, I _vowed_ I would protect her child for causing her death. And now I’ve fucked it up again!”

The Malfoys exchanged confused and alarmed glances. Had Severus just admitted to being the reason the Dark Lord had gone after the Potters? That didn’t make any sense, given his well-known love for Lily.

In one fluid movement, Severus was standing with his wand drawn, but instead of pointing it at Narcissa and Lucius as they expected, he put it to his temple.

“Tell Pot— Tell Raven I’m sorry. For everything. And tell Dumbledore to stick his ‘Greater Good’ up his arse and to go to hell. _Avada Ke—_ ”

“— _Expelliarmus_ ,” shouted Lucius, a horrified look on his face. He caught Severus’ wand and sent a stinging hex straight at the man.

“Get a hold of yourself, Severus!” Narcissa yelled.

Suddenly wandless and exposed, the potions master crumpled onto his knees as tears streamed down his face, contorted in an expression of self-loathing. He haltingly spilled out to his two remaining friends everything he had kept hidden for the past seven years. Joining the Dark Lord as a way to get back at his abusive father, and because Dumbledore had failed him over and over again in his Hogwarts years. Hearing the prophecy, and taking it to Voldemort in a bid for the recognition and appreciation he never received. Believing his assurances that Lily need not die. Discovering Lily’s body, and the child with eyes too much like hers, impossibly alive, and the Dark Lord gone. Vowing to keep Harry safe. Becoming Dumbledore’s spy and professor because he had nothing left. Dumbledore assuring him Harry was growing up spoiled with his relatives, and how he now understood that as the manipulation it was, playing on his own childhood experiences and hatred for James Potter.

The room fell silent, and Snape slowly gained control of his breathing, wiping his face with a handkerchief offered by Lucius.

“How could he do that? I trusted Albus with my life. I thought he was protecting me. He _did_ protect me. How could he send the child off to such a home and not even check up on him- her?” he groused to himself, standing and straightening his robes.

“We may never know. But as the muggles say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Whether his actions were malicious or solely negligent, we are still responsible for protecting Raven from him now. Will you help us?” demanded Narcissa.

Severus’ face was taken by a shrewd look, then he closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders and frowned in concentration for a minute. Lucius recognised the gesture as that of reviewing a memory with the aid of occlumency, so as to recall it exactly, but he knew not what memory his friend would be studying.

“I am not certain,” began the greasy-haired man carefully, “but I have reason to believe that my vow of service to Albus Dumbledore has been voided. I felt a vow release me during my, well, _breakdown_ earlier. You must know, when I found Lily dead, I swore to protect her child to the full extent of my ability. At the time, and until now, I believed that to be a purely personal vow, but my wording was similar enough to that of binding magical agreements that I believe Magic may have taken my words and intent and created a binding vow of some kind without any spell. The difficulty of this is that I have no way of knowing the exact terms of the vow. It is my belief that upon hearing of the harm caused to the child indirectly by Dumbledore, my magic established that the two vows, of protection over Raven and of fealty to Dumbledore, did conflict. As such, it appears to have annulled the latter. It requires confirmation, but if this were the case, it would greatly increase the degree to which I am allowed — well, obliged — to assist you in Raven’s care.”

“Well,” Narcissa smirked, “it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have the fabled Half-blood Prince behind us.”

“Not to mention, we now have a way to be sure when Albus discovers Raven’s absence. No doubt he will keep it to himself as long as possible before alerting the Ministry or the public,” added Lucius.

“Anyway,” concluded Narcissa, “all this is beside the immediate point. Now we can be reasonably certain you are no longer a threat to Raven,” she glared briefly at the potions master, “we need to know everything you know about our new ward and her family history.”

Severus took his seat once more and waited for the couple opposite to do the same, and ready parchment and quill.

“She was born Hadrian James Potter on the 31st of July, three minutes before midnight, in St Mungo’s Hospital. She was obviously declared ‘a boy’ at the time. Shortly afterwards, Lily and James Potter went into hiding along with their child, presumably under the _Fidelius_ ward. Only Lupin, Pettigrew and Dumbledore knew the secret; Black was the secret keeper. Raven was one year and three months old when the Dark Lord struck. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to investigate when the ward fell. He encountered Black, who immediately apparated away. Hagrid took the baby to Dumbledore. When Black was arrested for his betrayal and Pettigrew’s murder, Dumbledore placed the child with ‘relatives’. That was all he would tell me, and until Andromeda confirmed it, I hadn’t realised that he meant Lily’s abominable sister and her equally ghastly husband. At the time, Minerva made various statements to suggest she was unhappy with the people the girl was placed with, but Albus eventually convinced her they were the best option. The last time I encountered Petunia was just after Lily graduated Hogwarts. She saw me on the street and yelled epithets until I was out of earshot. I’m hardly surprised, though no less horrified to hear she grew into a child abuser,” he spat.

“Well, it sounds like we should get on with formally adopting Raven, if that’s what we’re going to do,” sighed Narcissa. “With her birthday coming up in only two weeks, Dumbledore is more likely to be thinking of her, and possibly going to check up on her ex-residence, don’t you think?”

“Very likely,” conceded Snape. “He has brought her name up around this time in previous years. Given it is the school holidays, I do not know if he visited the… residence, as you put it, in past years.”

He paused, and a scheming look came over the sallow face.

“He has an obsession with ridiculously constructed ward monitors — his office is filled with them. I would be very surprised if at least one of them wasn’t set to the Dursley house.”

“Given that he appears unaware of Raven’s prolonged absence, we can assume it is not merely a presence detecting ward, correct?” interjected Lucius, enjoying having Severus to scheme with.

“Yes, but other than that we have no information by which to narrow down the possibilities.”

Narcissa frowned.

“So we should adopt her as soon as possible then.”

Lucius looked uncertain.

“That’s a large and irrevocable step to take so soon. If we’re not careful, it will alert the very people we’re trying to avoid alerting…”

“But _someone_ must do so — it is the only way to ensure her safety. Until it is done, she could be removed and returned to those people at any time. You must see that, Lucius,” countered Snape before Lady Malfoy could respond.

“And we are the best ones to do it. She has already wormed her way into your heart, don’t deny it, husband of mine.”

Lucius nodded in resignation.

“We should have a consultation with the goblins first. They will be able to sort out all the family inheritance details, as well as aid us in keeping the process quiet, for the right fee. If we perform a blood adoption, the possible rituals will be limited by those that won’t exclude her from the Potter inheritance as well as her new one. Given the current lack of a Lord Black, perhaps we could adopt her into that tree, rather than the Malfoy line, through your own side and her grandmother, Dorea Potter née Black,” the man pointed out, his eyes gleaming. His wife noticed, and raised an eyebrow.

“Heaven help anyone who tries to work against us. Lucius has that look in his eye he gets when nothing and nobody will stand in his way,” she mused, prompting a snort from Severus.

While Lucius collated his ideas and plans for Raven’s adoption, Lady Malfoy summoned an owl and penned a short letter to Ripshod, the goblin in charge of the Malfoy accounts, requesting a meeting the following day. Having shrunk the letter and charmed it onto the owl’s leg, she turned to the potions master.

“Severus,” she began, arms crossed. “You have had a long day. Go home and have a stiff drink. We won’t need you for the rest of the adoption process, but I will keep you updated. I expect you to keep an eye on the old man for us. Think of some excuse to see him around Raven’s birthday. If he finds out she is gone, we need to know.”

The stern woman turned away, but snapped back, remembering something.

“And for heaven’s sake, don’t try to kill yourself again, you fool.” She smiled sadly. “There will be ample opportunity to make up for your mistakes to Raven in the future. I will pass on your apologies to her and Draco, but it may be some time until they’re willing to see you again.”

With a parting grimace at the reminder of the consequences of his actions of the previous day, Severus departed by the floo. The Malfoys filed their research away in Lucius’ office, ready to be taken along to Gringotts, and went to find the children.

Draco and Raven were absorbed in a game with Draco playing a knight in shining armour, fighting the fearsome dragon, played by Shesha, to save the Princess Raven, locked in a tower. Narcissa laughed, seeing the parchment wings the children had cut out and had Dinny stick onto Shesha for them as dragon wings. Soon the married couple had joined in, with Lucius informed politely that he was playing the princess next because he had “long princess hair”. When the inseparable trio were finally convinced to come down to lunch, Shesha insisted on keeping the wings on. Raven translated with a giggle, “he says he likes being a dragon, thank you very much.”

Narcissa was amazed at the difference between the girl she saw before her, and the terrified child she had first seen at the Tonkses’. She knew that healing the girl psychologically would be a very long process; Ted was going to come over every evening for a session since the incident the day before. It just seemed impossible that a child so hurt, so abused, could still be giggling and playing happily, even if it had taken weeks to reach that point. Evidently, she needed to give little Raven, her soon-to-be daughter (and _Merlin,_ how her heart swelled at that thought) rather more credit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to give a shout-out to [One For The Radio - (What The Hell Is A Radio, Potter?)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8626921) by [Petey_Pie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Petey_Pie/pseuds/Petey_Pie) for a significant portion of the inspiration that led to this story, with a disabled Harry, taken under Draco's wing.


	13. An Adoption, Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucius and Narcissa very nearly properly adopt Raven, but the girl unknowingly nearly causes a diplomatic disaster when it turns out her sense for magic goes deeper than anyone knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly how do authors write tens of thousands of words in a week? How? To whom must I sell my soul? Where are the appropriate crossroads to meet a demon? CROWLEY COME BACK I NEED TO STOP DISAPPOINTING MY READERS
> 
> This is less edited than it should be, simply because I wanted to get it posted.

On a warm clear day of mid-July, an odd party ascended up the steps of Gringotts Bank. The regal blond leading the party had no sooner made eye contact with one of the higher-up goblin tellers than a wrinkled but comparatively young-looking goblin made his way over, meeting the Malfoys in the centre of the atrium.

“Follow me, Ripshod is expecting you,” came the gruff instruction as the goblin turned tail and hurried off without a glance behind. Raven and Draco suddenly found themselves being dragged along much faster than they expected, and the girl tripped over her feet.

“You will slow down, goblin. Have some consideration for my blind ward,” snapped Narcissa icily. Raven was too relieved at the subsequent change in pace to be embarrassed at having her disability pointed out.

After several minutes of traversing the maze-like corridors of the Gringotts offices, one of the many equally-unmarked doors opened at the snap of their guide’s claws. Seeing Narcissa’s raised eyebrow, he turned to Raven, visibly reluctant.

“My apologies, young Malfoys,” he bit out with a stiff bow of the head, then scuttled off and disappeared around a corner before any reply could be made.

“Greetings, Lord and Lady Malfoy. May your vaults spill over. Greetings also, Heir Malfoy, and who might your friend be?”

Ripshod spoke with the same scratchiness of all goblins, but also a curt eloquence. It was clear that he was of a greatly different class to the ordinary tellers and cart-goblins, bestowed the honour of minding the funds and affairs of a longstanding Wizarding family.

“Well met, Manager Ripshod. May your enemies cower before you. Allow me to introduce to you our new ward, and with your assistance, adopted daughter, Corva Black, known as Raven,” introduced Lucius, settling into one of the chairs conjured by the goblin with a snap of his long claws.

Narcissa sat elegantly next to her husband, and Draco led Raven over to a loveseat on the side.

“Well met, Miss Black,” the goblin intoned with a nod. “I take it that her adoption is the purpose of our meeting? I assume that having come to Gringotts, you wish to make a claim through kinship, rather than the custody system of the Ministry,” he sneered.

“Given Raven’s public status, and the fact her previous magical guardian abandoned her in an abusive situation, I am willing to try any means to keep her under my protection,” Narcissa replied, avoiding any comment on the Ministry or Gringotts themselves. Ripshod raised an eyebrow at her careful manoeuvring and his smirk widened.

“I have greatly missed interacting with the Black clan. You would make a good goblin, Lady Malfoy.” He turned to observe Raven, and continued. “I believe our best option to proceed is to use the Oldest magic possible. While it is unpredictable, Old Magic is deeply Empathetic. In this case, I believe Miss Black’s unfortunate past would cement a far stronger adoption bond than any modern method.”

Lucius interrupted. “Are you proposing a Ritual? They are infamously dangerous. I shall not place my daughter-to-be in harm’s way.”

“Fortunately for you, the Goblin Nation does not forget our history so easily as humans. We possess a great many Artefacts of Old that wizards have abandoned and forgotten. Tell me, have you ever heard of _Cynnforcan_?”

Lucius stayed silent, which was answer enough, but Narcissa’s eyes widened fractionally.

“I believe I’ve heard the term mentioned once or twice, but not for many years. My brother Regulus fancied himself something of an academic historian, and studied the Black library for such things.” the woman elaborated. “The name sounds Saxon, but, I can’t say I know what they are.”

" _Cynnforcan_ , singularly a _cynnforca_ or ‘kin-fork’, were devices created by early alchemical artificers to prove descent from a noble line in the Middle Ages. As the name suggests, they bear the shape of a fork; specifically a tuning fork. While the non-magical world only developed that invention in the early 18th century, the fork shape has been known as a magically significant shape for hundreds of years since the discovery of the particular properties of resonance.

“When a magical being holds a _cynnforca_ and pushes their magic into it, the magic dissipates in a magical field. One of the few useful properties of this field is that it will resonate in accordance to the closeness of blood ties of the holder. The most obvious manifestation is a tone that only those blood-related to the holder can hear. However, this makes it difficult to verify, hence it falling out of use. Fortunately for you, the goblin artificer Garthenick Ún-Awlebreke invented an independently verifiable alternative, in which the fork is dipped in a shallow pool of blood while it resonates. Depending on the closeness of blood kinship, the surface of the blood will ripple to a different degree.”

Seeing Lucius’ doubtful expression, Narcissa spoke up. “Lucius, calm yourself. I am hardly going to faint at the sight of my own blood.” Rolling her eyes when her husband looked unconvinced, she continued. “No doubt Ripshod will be able to provide a blood-replenishing potion for a reasonable price if it will pacify your concern for my wellbeing.” Lucius nodded sharply, and the goblin grinned a toothy grin.

Ripshod snapped his fingers, and the papers on his desk were filed away to one side, leaving a large clear space on the desk. He used the claw of one index finger to sharply draw several runes onto the surface, leaving no mark and giving no sign of effect. Lucius, who found goblin magic odd and unfathomable, paid little attention, but Raven whipped her head around to face the desk. She tugged Draco up and pulled him towards it.

“What do those shapes mean, Mister Ripshod? Are they letters?” she demanded, angling her face towards the dark spot of the goblin’s magic.

The account manager looked up as he finished with a surprised expression. Narcissa was immediately curious; surprising a goblin was no mean feat.

“I thought that you were blind, Miss Black?” Ripshod said, somewhat rudely.

“Yeah my eyes can’t see, but I can kind of see magic around me. It’s not with my eyes, I don’t know how,” the little girl replied, quick as a flash. “Oh wow, now the letters are changing? There are so many in there, it feels like more than could possibly make sense!”

Immediately the goblin’s expression turned fierce, and with a roar, he brought all four claws down the desk in a vicious swipe. The magic in the desk surface immediately ceased, and Ripshod snapped his fingers towards the door, which, to Draco’s horror, dissolved into the wall as if it had never been there.

“What are you doing?! She didn’t do anything!” He yelled, and the only thing stopping him for leaping to attack the goblin with his tiny fists was the knowledge that Raven needed him to help her get around. Meanwhile, Lucius and Narcissa had both stood and drawn their wands, pointed squarely at the goblin’s chest. Realising the reaction he had caused, Ripshod slowly took a step back from the desk and raised his hands unthreateningly.

“My apologies for causing you alarm, Lord and Lady Malfoy, but I am bound by my employment and by my very being as a citizen of the Goblin Nation to protect our secrets. The magic in our tablets is one such fiercely protected secret. It has been carefully constructed over centuries of work to be impossible for any wizard to examine, let alone understand, and your daughter has just given the impression that this protection is as effective as a drunkard’s disillusionment, if you’ll pardon the phrase,” he finished, angrily.

“The failure of the Goblin Nation to properly secure its secrets is none of my concern. Release us _immediately_ ,” snarled Lucius.

“It is your concern when you are the one who has stolen the secret!” bellowed Ripshod.

“ _Cease this at once!_ ” snapped Narcissa terrifyingly. “I am not going to let you two fools start another Goblin War if my daughter is involved! Now sit down and discuss this unexpected situation like adults!”

Both males reluctantly took their seats, watching the other distrustfully. Narcissa rolled her eyes again and moved to the loveseat, pulling Raven onto her lap.

“So. The situation as I understand, is thus: the magical Tablet in your desk is a piece of prized goblin artifice, and its workings are a carefully guarded secret. To the best of your understanding, Account Manager Ripshod, the magic within should be undetectable to any wizard. However, Raven told us that she could could see runes within it as it worked. Hearing this, you deactivated the Tablet and acted to prevent the secrets from leaving this room. Is this correct?”

Both males nodded.

“Very well. I am going to draw my wand, solely to take a vow, Ripshod.” She did so slowly, then made the vow succinctly and clearly. “I, Narcissa Electra Malfoy, swear on my life and magic that I do not intend, and have never intended, to usurp the secrets of the Goblin Nation. So mote it be.” There was a small flash of white to signify a vow that was both truthful and not binding into the future, then silence.

Ripshod looked pointedly at Lucius, until the man took an identical vow, with the same result.

“Very well, you have proven you are innocent in that specific regard, and I will not detain you in this room any further. But the matter remains, that this girl is privy to goblin secrets, whether she understands them or not. I must discuss the appropriate course of action with my superiors. This is out of my hands.” He clicked towards the wall, and the door reformed out of the panelling. “I trust you not to leave the Gringotts building until this matter is settled. I will return as soon as possible.”

The goblin manager stood and promptly left the room, leaving the door unlocked as he had promised. After nearly half an hour of waiting, during which Narcissa ventured out to find a bathroom with the children, Ripshod finally returned, with another Goblin dressed in dark reds and purples, with a gilt tooth shining between their lips.

“This is Sharpglint, of the goblin ruling clan. She is their representative in this Gringotts branch. Few humans are ever allowed to meet one of her status,” introduced Ripshod.

Narcissa and Lucius bowed their heads deeply to the noble goblin, as a pureblood was brought up to do in the presence of one of noble blood. Draco followed their lead after quickly whispering to Raven to do the same.

Sharpglint’s grin shone with the eponymous tooth, pleased at the respect shown by the wizards.

“Well met, Lord and Lady Malfoy and your progeny. I am pleasantly surprised by your manners. You reflect well on the race of wizards,” came the hissing but unmistakably aristocratic voice. “Ripshod has informed me of the situation, so let us get down to business, hmm?” She nodded to the seating in Ripshod’s office, and conjured a lavish chair for herself with a flick of a claw.

“I can think of only two appropriate courses of action in this situation. Kindly allow me to explain before making any comment.” She continued without waiting for agreement. “Option one: to obliviate your young ward of anything she has seen here. While you were present for the incident, I believe only young Miss Black’s memories pose any threat to the goblin nation.”

Lucius paled, and Narcissa frowned, while Draco looked somewhat panicked. Sharpglint allowed a moment for the proposal to sink in, then continued once more.

“Or, alternatively, we have an offer to make Miss Black personally. If she were to become an employee of Gringotts, the magic in the contract, as well as the diplomatic protections for all non-goblin Gringotts employees, would be sufficient protection for our secrets, in my opinion. However, this would require her to abide by the contract like any other employee, and would preclude her working for any of our competitors in any industry. In recompense, we wish to offer her the conventional starting salary for a junior warder from today until she comes of age. After her graduation, she is to be guaranteed a job in any of the Gringotts departments that employ non-humans, including protective warding, functional warding, artefact research, fraud detection, and curse-breaking.”

Lucius looked astonished, but a thought occurred to him. “And what would the limitations of the contract be, were she to sign it? Would it hold any power over us, as her guardians?” he demanded.

“Mm. You are clever to ask. The contract decrees that the punishment for any employee for any infraction or criminal offence committed related to Gringotts, is to be dealt with by the Goblin Nation, rather than the Ministry. In effect, it a pseudo-citizenship of the Goblin Nation, including the expectation to support the Goblin Nation’s interests. The contracts hold no power over any but the employee themselves, even in the case of a minor, but they have a provision for sanctuary to be granted to the close family of an employee in the event of a diplomatic crisis.”

“I see,” Lucius pondered. “As far as I can distinguish, the only potential disadvantage to our family is the requirement to support the Nation’s interests over our own. Even so, I find this option vastly preferable to obliviation. Not to mention, it forces Gringotts to support us as much as it does the opposite. Narcissa?”

The Lady Malfoy turned to offer her own thoughts. “I support this option, definitely, but I would like an agreement of some kind to ensure the Goblin Nation cannot remove Raven from us, or otherwise we would be trading one holey cauldron for another, so to speak.”

Sharpglint nodded. “If Lord Malfoy were to swear allegiance to the Goblin Nation, the Malfoy clan would be considered protected citizens to the same degree as a non-goblin employee.”

Lucius looked reluctant to make such a politically limiting move, but a stern glance from Narcissa reminded him of the priority — Raven’s safety.

“Very well. Pending my approval of the employee contract, I will do so.”

Sharpglint motioned at Ripshod, who leant over the Tablet that had caused the crisis in the first place. After a few quick scribbles, several leaves of thick parchment appeared silently on top of the slab, and the goblin passed these to Lucius. He leafed through the pages quickly, before passing it to Narcissa to do the same.

“My husband and I see no issues with the contract. How must Raven go about signing it?” asked the elegant woman.

“Given her disability, it will need to be read out in its entirety by a trusted party before it can be signed in good faith. Goblin contracts will not accept the signature of a guardian on a minor’s behalf, and all signatories must have read, or have been read, the contract before a signature will be accepted.”

Narcissa passed the contract back to Ripshod, who slowly and evenly read the contract out to Raven. Draco was, predictably, getting antsy and bored after so long sitting around listening to grown-ups talk, but Narcissa was impressed by Raven’s continued focus, and resolved to reward her when they returned home. After the entire contract had been read, and Raven had answered some questions to prove her understanding of its meaning, to the extent a six-year-old could, Narcissa helped the girl up to the edge of the desk (including transfiguring a small step-stool so the petite Black could reach comfortably.

“Will a blood-print be acceptable?” she asked, and Raven looked a little wary. At Ripshod’s nod, Narcissa explained.

“I just need to prick your finger a little, so that your fingerprint ends up on the contract in your blood. It will hurt a tiny bit, but I’ll heal it afterwards, okay?” she promised.

Raven nodded, and Narcissa used her wand to prick the girl’s left index finger, allowing the blood to well up, before pressing it down onto the section at the end of the parchment. She whispered a healing charm while the contract glowed, proving a successful activation.

The contract was duplicated and Lucius handed the copy, while the original was disappeared with the Tablet.

“Excellent. I am glad we managed to settle this amicably, and gained ourselves a very powerful little witch in the bargain,” teased Sharpglint, dropping out of her formal tone for a minute. “I would apologise for detaining you, but it really was the only way to protect the Goblin Nation and Gringott’s secrets. Fare thee well, Malfoy clan.”

“Wait!” squeaked Raven, who had returned to hovering beside her brother. “Um, sorry. I don’t want to be rude, I was just wondering if now that I’ve signed that er, contract, could you teach me more about the magic desk and stuff? I really want to learn how it works, please.”

Sharpglint raised an eyebrow, but leant down a little to match Raven’s height. “Gringotts would be happy to teach you more about its operations, as well as goblin magic, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a few more years to be able to understand it. Perhaps in your summer holidays away from Hogwarts, you visit if you still wish. You are a very clever girl. I will be keeping a close eye on your achievements, young Raven, for I believe you will go far. Farewell now.”

The goblin bowed slightly, earning an expression of surprise from the adults as she departed. Sharpglint had shown the little Black the respect due to a powerful peer, and would not have done so lightly.

“Lord and Lady Malfoy, it has been a long day, and I have much work to catch up on. May I request you return tomorrow morning to proceed with the original purpose of your trip?” suggested Ripshod.

“Thank Merlin!” burst out Draco, earning a chortle from his parents. “We’ve been here _forever_!”

“I think that would be for the best,” agreed Lucius. “Until tomorrow.”

“Until tomorrow,” dismissed the goblin, summoning a junior goblin to guide the family out of the labyrinthine hallways.

Thoroughly tired from avoiding a diplomatic disaster, Lucius and Narcissa carried their worn-out children back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo home for a long-overdue lunch and nap.

After settling the children into their bed (Draco had protested, despite being clearly overtired, but gave up when Raven cuddled into him from behind), Lucius and Narcissa shared an exasperated look as they stood together by the door.

“Never a dull moment with children, they say,” murmured Lucius into his wife’s ear, prompting a huff of amusement.

“What were we thinking, adopting the Child-Who-Lived? It seems her fate to end up in unusual and dangerous situations now.”

“Perhaps we should have gotten a cat instead,” smiled the blond as he gently shut the door to the children’s room and gave his wife a tender kiss. For all they joked, they both knew the other would do anything to help this new member of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the idea of the cynnforca makes sense or seems interesting to anyone other than me, haha. I just really want a wizarding world where nonsense-latin spells aren't the be-all and end-all of magic.
> 
>  **Worldbuilding note:** Goblins have only a single personal name, bestowed by their clan leader upon coming of age. "Ún-Awlebreke" means "under/of Awlebreke", as goblins refer to those of generations past by the name of the goblin monarch at their birth.
> 
> Check out my new work [_Ossa Amābilia_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11565384) if you want to read a dark, grim story with Dead!Harry. Otherwise, soon a prompt fill I gave away with Good!Dursleys & Magic!Dudley will be coming!


	14. A Black Sense of Humour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More things come to light about the house of Black, and Raven is finally adopted, though not the way they first expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it is I, your trash author. I had writers’ block, a crisis felling stupid for writing fanfic when I’m an adult, lost some notes, crazy work, and more writers’ block. But here is a chapter, believe it or not.

Early in the morning following the eventful visit to Gringotts, Raven was lying awake in her bed, beside Draco’s sleeping form. Having a nap the previous afternoon had made her wake up early, and she was too excited for the day to come to fall back to sleep. Shesha, the lazy snake, had refused to wake up and talk to her, instead burrowing further under the warm covers. Sometimes her snake really reminded Raven of a cat. She had mentioned it once, only to be given the cold shoulder (though she didn’t think snakes even had shoulders) for two whole days. She wasn’t going to say it out loud to him again.

During her time with the Malfoys, Raven had been practising using her sense for magic more. It still tired her out and gave her a headache to concentrate on it for a long time, but she was getting better at telling different people’s magics apart from a distance, and avoiding walking into things by seeing the magic imbued in the places and objects around her. The problem, she mused, was that her colours really weren’t like sight, as she remembered it. Nothing was opaque, so it got hard to tell what was closer and what was further away, not to mention that there weren’t any shadows. She hadn’t realised until she didn’t have them, how hard it was to understand things’ shapes without shadows. But the hardest part by far was the way that magic just wouldn’t _sit still_. Everything was blurry and jittery, and trying to tell what was actually moving in a sea of things all moving at once was really hard work. From what she could tell though, being around Draco, Shesha, Lucius and Cissa a lot made it easier to notice their magics in particular.

Being used to the buzzing cacophony of colour that was the magic around her, Raven had been amazed and excited when the goblin’s magic desk had been working the day before. Suddenly, around it there was a sort of bubble of focus. Almost like the letters were all written on a solid rock, instead of flying around in the air. She could still see around and through it as much as usual, but it was easy to concentrate on _only_ the desk, for once. The shapes which Ripshod drew into the desk with his claw stayed there, and she began to see echoes of them somewhere else through the walls as it worked. Of course, before anything much happened, she had interrupted, and made them all angry. She still felt a little guilty for that, but Cissa had insisted that nothing was her fault and even given her extra dessert for having been patient while the grownups sorted out the contract thing. Oh yeah, she kind of had a job, like the grownups! The girl giggled, imagining herself sitting in a fancy chair in an office, ordering people about in that grumpy voice Lucius got when he was talking to someone from work in his office. She couldn’t wait to get to learn magic at Hogwarts and be allowed to go to Gringotts and learn about Goblin magic too.

* * *

This time, when the Malfoy family entered Gringotts, they were immediately greeted by a new goblin attendant, more senior in rank judging by their finery, and taken straight to Ripshod’s office without delay. Narcissa couldn’t help but notice that the route seemed to be a different one than the day before — they arrived much faster, and with fewer twists and turns. It seemed that the previous day’s antics had changed the goblins’ regard for them to a degree.

“Greetings once again, Malfoy clan. May you remain prosperous. Shall we get straight down to business?” offered Ripshod as soon as the humans had been seated.

Lucius and Narcissa assented after offering their own greetings. With a glance at Raven, Ripshod began to write on the Tablet with his claw. The young girl noticed the change in magic immediately, but did her best to politely pay attention without looking like she was doing so. After a short time, a shallow stone bowl the width of a drinking glass, a sharp wrought-silver dagger, and a worn wooden box blinked into existence on the Tablet’s surface.

“So, as I explained yesterday, the _cynnforca_ here will be held by one participant while the tines are dipped in the blood of the other. I assume you would prefer not to use your ward’s own blood?”

Lucius agreed.

“In that case, we shall use Lady Malfoy’s blood, and have Raven hold the _cynnforca_. First though, you’ll need to verify that she is capable of controlling her own magic sufficiently to activate it.

Ripshod pushed the first two items towards his clients with a nod, and Narcissa took the _cynnforca_ and placed it in Raven’s small hands. Having been listening attentively, the girl immediately started working on pushing her magic into the artefact. Having not really taken hold of her magic before, it took a few minutes of Raven turning her magical sense towards her own body to feel where her own magical core lay. It was funny, having the feeling of something which was there in her body, but also not physically there. She wasn’t really sure what to do, so decided to think at the spot her colours, her ‘core’, lay.

After a few seconds, Raven saw a big ball of colour, swirling dark reds with white-gold streaks. She was a little taken aback by it, having become used to seeing the magics of Draco and her family, but never her own. It was bigger than Draco’s, by quite a bit — nearly as big as Narcissa’s, but what was most unusual was the small discoloured spot, like Jupiter’s Great Storm from a book about the planets Lucius had read to her and Draco. It was black, and a completely different feeling to the rest of her core. Where the majority swirled and sizzled, and reacted as she felt it inside her, this part was numb, like nothing she’d felt before. It was like it was achored somewhere inside her, but completely alien at the same time.

Raven considered bringing up the difference, but she quickly decided there was no point. Nobody else could see magic colours the way she could, so how would they know what it was? Speaking of which, perhaps it was an indication of her blindness affecting her. That made sense, given that everyone else who could see fine didn’t have anything like it.

The girl dismissed her concerns and turned to the task at hand. She tried imagining pushing on the ball of her magic to make it go into her hand holding the _cynnforca_ , from one side and then the other, but it was like pushing against a stone wall. Frustrated at the complete lack of movement, next she tried pulling at it. This time she was surprised at the small sense of stretching, unlike anything else she’d felt. Spurred on, she took a bigger hold, and yanked.

The next thing she knew, there was a loud shout and Draco disappeared from beside her. He seemed to have somehow ended up on the floor.

“What was that?!” demanded the boy, indignantly.

“Uh,” began Raven, who was mystified.

“Raven,” broke in Lucius, “are you aware you just let out a large wave of magical energy?”

She shook her head.

“It knocked Draco onto the floor, and caused my wand to heat up uncomfortably. Perhaps, try whatever you were doing more gently? Magic, for me, feels like warm water flowing within me. It shouldn’t require a great mental force; merely concentration.”

“Sorry Draco! And sorry Lucius, it was an accident,” Raven apologised sheepishly. “I’ll try again more gently.”

This time, when Raven felt for her core, she imagined hooking a finger under one of the ephemeral threads that flowed close to the surface. She could feel an almost buzzing hum from it, and gently tugged. This time, the thread easily extended itself as if her core were its bobbin. With a gleeful exclamation, she tugged it easily along her arm and into the _cynnforca_.

The room was filled with a ringing tone. It sounded like a single note, but when she tried to listen closer, it was impossible to distinguish singularly.

“Well done, darling,” praised Narcissa warmly, as Draco let out a surprised gasp at the sound. “Now that we know you can use it, we just need to follow Ripshod’s instructions to notarise our relation.”

Raven’s brows knitted in confusion. “What does ‘notarise’ mean?”

“It means to make something official. In this case, we are notarising our blood relation. That means we’re proving to Ripshod and anyone who wishes to check, that we truly are cousins. Second cousins, once removed, to be precise,” explained Narcissa patiently.

Ripshod cleared his throat, and Narcissa led her young ward to stand beside her at the edge of the large desk. When offered a small bejeweled dagger the length of a finger, she didn’t hesitate to prick her left wrist deeply enough for a constant flow of blood to pool in the bowl. Lucius, hovering at her side, withdrew his wand and murmured a healing spell as soon as Ripshod curtly indicated enough blood had been spilled. Almost absent-mindedly, the blond held his wife’s now-healed wrist up to his lips for a gentle kiss. Narcissa smiled fondly at the sweet gesture.

When prompted, Raven held out her hand holding the _cynnforca_ in front of her, and allowed the goblin to turn it over and carefully position it such that the two symmetrical tines just dipped into the shallow pool of blood. Breathlessly, she once more coaxed a thread of magic into the artefact.

This time, the tone was nearly impossible to hear, muffled as it was by the blood. However, when she tentatively widened her awareness from only the magic of her body to observe around her again (making sure to hold the thread of magic without snapping it), she could see bright ripples in the colours around her. They formed complex geometric patterns that seemed to resonate around her.

Lucius was fascinated by the deceptively complex forms the ripples on the surface of the blood pool had taken. It was a very clever trick for the goblins to have invented, he mused. Ripshod, on the other hand, had been busily completing the proof of blood relation. He slid a clean, rune-bordered parchment under the flat bowl of blood without disturbing it, and performed some complex motions with his hands resulting in a small burst of magic. When the parchment was slid out, the ripple patterns of blood had been reproduced perfectly on it, apparently using the blood itself as ink. Once this process was completed, the goblin vanished the blood, and took the _cynnforca_ back from the young girl, returning it to its box along with the stone bowl. He then placed them on the Tablet, and quickly scratched some marks to return them from whence they came, and clicked his fingers with a flourish, causing a small piece of folded thick parchment to enlarge and cover most of the desk. On it were many different illustrated circular geometric patterns, each labelled in Gobbledegook.

"Here we may compare the patterns we recorded with the meanings shown here. Bear in mind that some may appear simultaneously.”

The goblin studied the chart and parchment for some time, during which time Narcissa plucked Draco onto her lap, the boy having started to squirm from boredom.

“Huh,” grunted the goblin, after an extended silence.

“Your tone does not fill me with confidence,” Lucius said, rubbing his temples.

“Oh Merlin, what’s happened now?” Narcissa demanded with a hint of desperation.

“Well, here your relation as cousins is quite clear, but there’s something else too, which rather changes things. It appears Raven is already a member of the Black line,” announced Ripshod. “I certainly didn’t foresee this.”

“How is that possible?” came Lucius’ quick reply.

“Disregarding the patterns indicating her blood relation as a cousin of Lady Malfoy, leaves this one,” he circled certain areas of the parchment with a claw, leaving a glowing outline, “which indicates that she is current immediate heir to the Black line. Given recent history of the family, this suggests she is designated heir of the current Lord Black.”

“But surely there is no Lord Black? My cousin Sirius, who last I knew was heir to the late Lord Arcturus II, my father, was imprisoned in Azkaban for his infamous betrayal of the Potters. I was under the impression that conviction of a serious crime would strip him of the de-facto lordship he held at the time,” said Narcissa.

“That is correct.”

“Then how is Raven heir?” questioned Lucius. “For her to be heir, Sirius would have to still be Lord Black. Which is certainly not the case, according to the Wizengamot registers.”

“The _cynnforca_ cares not for your Ministry. It tells only the truth according to the family magic that flows through all members’ blood. There is no chance of mistake, only an obscure situation we have not considered. Further research will be necessary; I won’t speculate on it until we have more information,” concluded Ripshod.

“Very well then, setting that aside. Can we or can we not adopt Raven as intended?” asked Lucius.

“Yes, quite easily, I believe. While Sirius Black is apparently still Lord Black, his incarceration makes him Lord _in absentium_. As such, Lady Malfoy née Black, most senior close living relative of Sirius Black, is stewardess of the Black Lordship by default.”

“Would Andromeda not hold that title?” Lucius queried.

“No,” answered his wife. “She was disowned from the Black family when she eloped with Edward. I had thought that there was nothing that could be done until a new Lord Black took place, which would have required us to have another son, as Draco is Heir Malfoy.”

“Well, this has been enlightening,” sighed Lucius, looking a little overwhelmed.

“Well,” agreed Narcissa. “Looks like it’s up to me then. All those years of pureblood geneology are coming to use.” She drew her wand, and held it loosely, tip pointed upwards. “I, Narcissa Electra Malfoy née Black hereby accept the title of stewardess to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, for so long as the current Lord Black should remain _in absentium_ , or until the Heir Black should gain their majority. So mote it be.”

There was a deep rush of magic felt by Narcissa and Raven, together. The fierce woman took a few deep breaths to calm her magic, and took hold of Raven’s shoulder in her free hand. “This is it,” she whispered to the young girl.

“I, Stewardess Narcissa Electra of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, hereby adopt this child, Corva Lilia Black née Harry James Potter, as my ward and child. So mote it be.”

Raven gasped, feeling a deep shift in her own magic once more. The overwhelming, indescribable feeling made her eyes brim with tears. Seeing her distress, Lucius picked the little girl up, and moved to his wife, until Raven was sandwiched between her new parents. Draco ran over and put his hand up to hold hers affectionately, she gave a watery smile to her new brother. Happy tears streamed down the young face with the happy realisation that she truly had a family, like she’d secretly wished for every night in her cupboard. Real parents, who didn’t hurt her or yell at her, and a real brother who was her best friend in the world. A real family who believed that she was a girl, and loved her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know if there are any mistakes. And forgive me.
> 
> Also, holy shit, 500 kudos?! Wow! Thanks for the love and eternal patience, y’all.


End file.
